il |j IIS li'I 

I l lRI^ 
i ! 1 I ' lillilll 

3 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



BRIEF ILLUSTRATION 

OF THE ^ ^ 

PROPHECIES AND PROMISES 

» » 

OF 

GOD'S WORD; 

CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF GOD; 

AS REVEALED IN 

DIFFERENT PHASES IN THE SCRIPTURES 

OF THE 

OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. 

" But I will shew thee that which is noted, in the 
Scriptures of Truth."— -Dan. x. 21 . 

Copy -right secured by the Author, in the office of the Clerk of 
the Court of the United States in the Southern District of Ohio, 
July 10, 1857. 



Price — Single copy, fifty oents; per dozen* fire dollars. A lib- 
eral discount at wholesale by the hundred^' — ~ 



DAYTON, OHIO: 4 -- 

PEIXTED F.OK THE AUTH OR AND PUBLISHED BY HIM. 

1857. ^ 



t 




ADVERTISEMENT. 



The writer of this brief Treatise, having been de- 
voted for more than forty years, to an itinerant minis- 
try, in traveling and preaching the gospel, in more than 
twenty of the United States, and in four of the British 
Provinces, has discovered that while fictitious and Ro- 
manical works are extensively circulated, and read with 
a fascinating zeal, the study of the Bible is too much 
neglected. And, that in a special manner, the Proph° 
ecies are considered uninteresting, and too intricate to 
claim attention, or to be understood. 

This circumstance has induced the writer to give 
more attention to the prophecies, and, for a few years 
past, to dwell more on the subjects of prophecy, in his 
preaching, than is customary in these days. But the 
failure of the strength of lungs, with which he has 
usually been blessed, admonishes him that he must 
soon leave the walls of Zion ; and he has, therefore, 
taken his pen, and committed some of his views of 
prophecy, to writing ; hoping that the perusal of this 
brief work, may call the attention of those who read it, 
to a more diligent study of the Holy Scriptures. 

The Author does not pretend to be the originator of 
all the sentiments contained in this work ; for many of 
the most important principles of doctrine, here set forth, 
have been advanced by many of the most learned and 
pious expositors. And although this book has been 

3 



iv 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



written, without any other book in sight or reach (ex 
cept the Bible, and Concordance, and Dictionary), yet 
the author acknowledges himself much indebted to 
Bishop Newton, Cotton Mather, and many others, for 
instructions on the subjects on which he has treated, in 
this Illustration. 

Some years ago the appellation of White Mountain 
Pilgrim was fortuitously attached to the Author, by 
the public, on account of his haviDg originated from the 
borders of the White Mountains, and spent most of his 
life in traveling and preaching. He has therefore con- 
cluded to use this venerable name, in the publication of 
this work ; that the public may have an opportunity to 
read and judge of the correctness or incorrectness of it/ 
by the numerous quotations from the Bible, and not by 
the merits or demerits of the 

Author. 



CONTENTS. 



SECTION. 

I. The Everlasting Kingdom of* God. 

II. FOREORDINATION OF GOD'S CHOSEN KlNG. 

III. The Subjects of the Kingdom of God. 

IV. The Territory of the Kingdom of God. 
V. The Law of the Kingdom of God. 

VI. The Different Phases of the Kingdom. 

VII. The Subversion of the Kingdom of Israel. 

VIII. The Promise to the Jews and Gentiles. 

IX. The Times of Restitution of all Things. 

X. The Dispensation of the Fullness of Times. 

XI. The Coming, and Right of Christ to Reign. 

XII. The Transition to the New Jerusalem. 

5 



INTRODUCTION. 



As Christ is the end of the law, so is he the end of 
the prophecies. And the whole of God's dispensations 
to man, originate and centre in him, as the Alpha and 
Omega, the first and the last, who was before all things, 
and by whom all things consist : and in whom all the 
prophecies and promises are yea, and amen, to the 
glory of God the Father. 

Prophecy not only reveals future events, but by it the 
history of the whole Patriarchal age was recovered, by 
Moses, and handed down in the Pentateuch to later 
generations. And by it the instructions concerning 
present duty, as well as the knowledge of future events, 
are communicated from God to man. The apostle Peter 
considered it more sure than heathen Fables, or even 
the history of events, related, or written by eye-wit- 
nesses : and encourages us to take heed to it, as to a 
light shining in this dark world, until the millennial 
day dawns, and the Star, which visited us at the first 
advent of Christ, arise in our hearts at the resurrection, 
as the root and offspring of David, the Bright and the 
Morning Star. 

The mystical and allegorical constructions put upon 
the Prophecies, by unbelieving and visionary interpret- 
ers, has bewildered the minds of many, who seem either 
to be fruitful in imagining vague notions concerning 



viii 



INTRODUCTION. 



their meaning, or to despair of obtaining any correct 
understanding of them. But why should it be thought 
reasonable, that God, in revealing his word, means dif- 
ferent from the plain, literal meaning of it, or that he 
will fulfill those predictions which remain to be fulfill- 
ed, in a manner different from those which have been 
accomplished ? It requires no greater stretch of credu- 
lity, to believe that the saints shall inherit the new 
earth, than to believe the account given of the creation 
and peopling of this earth. Nor is it any more incon- 
sistent to believe that the Lion will eat straw like an 
Ox, and lie down with the Lamb, peaceably, than that 
he ever did those things. 

We learn from the account given of the creation, that, 
on a certain day, God created every beast jthat creeps 
upon the earth (and the lion was one of them), and 
that he created every tree bearing fruit, and every herb 
bearing seed, for food, for man and beasts, on another 
day. But it is evident that the lion did not live on an- 
imal food; for he could not eat his fellow animals with- 
out killing them. And there were no instances of 
death, before sin abounded. 

The Author does not feel himself at liberty to depart 
from the plain, literal, common sense import of the 
Scriptures ; unless they are represented as metaphors, 
and parables, by being called such ; or are connected 
with figures, or couched in such language as shows 
them to be allegorical, by being expressed in phrases 
of comparison, such as the following, for example : 
Like unto, or is as, or like, &c. <fce. 

It is to be regretted that so many, in modern times, 
are disposed to subvert the Scriptures, by saying, as 
they did anciently , "Ah Lord God ! doth he not speak 



INTRODUCTION. 



parables V If one takes the liberty to invent, or im- 
agine a figurative meaning of scripture, others may 
take the same liberty, and produce a multitude of dif- 
ferent figures, and each be entitled to equal credibility. 
And thus we are left to mere conjectures, instead of 
having a revelation that is tangible, and reasonable, 
and certain. 

From these considerations, the Author has been de- 
terred from using long and labored metyphysical argu- 
ments, and has briefly expressed his views, and quoted 
the Scriptures, from which he has derived the senti- 
ments he endeavors to illustrate ; that those who read 
may be able to compare them with the only infallible 
standard of divine truth : The Bible. 

While prosecuting this work, the Author has been 
filled with admiration, in finding so much in the Bible 
to confirm the literal meaning of the Scriptures, and 
that, as yet, nothing has been discovered that is inex- 
plicable, or contrary to such meaning. And if the 
reader is as much delighted in perusing the work, as 
the Author has been in the pleasing task of writing it, 
he will not regret the attention thus devoted to this im- 
portant subject. 

In hopes thus to contribute to the promulgation of 
gospel light, and truth, and in aiding and edifying 
Christians, and of convincing such as maybe skeptical, 
and persuading them to believe the Scriptures, this lit- 
tle Treatise is respectfully and affectionately dedicated 
to the public by the humble 

Author. 



z 



INTRODUCTION. 



"The Bible is justly esteemed 

The glory supreme of the land, 
Which shews how a sinner's redeem'd. 

And brought to Jehovah's right hand. 
With pleasure we freely confess 

The bible does all books outshine, 
But Jesus, his person and grace, 

Affords it that lustre divine. 

In ev'ry prophetical book 

Where God his decrees hath unseal'd, 
With joy we behold as we look, 

The wonderful Savior reveal'd ; 
His glories project to the eye, 

And prove it was not his design 
Those glories concealed should lie, 

But there in full majesty shine. 

The first gracious promise to man, 

A blessed prediction appears, 
His work is the soul of the plan, 

And gives it the glory it wears. 
How cheering the truth must have been, 

That Jesus the promised seed, 
Should triumph o'er satan and sin, 

And hell in captivity lead ! 

The ancient Levitical law 

Was prophecy after its kind, 
In types there the faithful foresaw 

The Savior that ransom'd mankind. 
The altar, the lamb, and the priest, 

The blood that was sprinkled of old, 
Had life when the people could taste 

The blessings those shadows foretold, 



INTRODUCTION. 



Review each prophetical song, 

Which shines in prediction's rich train 
The sweetest to Jesus belong, 

And point out his sufferings and reign 
Sure David his harp never strung 

With more of true sacred delight, 
Than when of the Savior he sung, 

And he was revealed to his sight. 

May Jesua more precious become— 

His word be a lamp to our feet, 
While we in this wilderness roam, 

Till brought in his presence to meet 
Then, then we will gaze on thy face, 

Our Prephet, our Priest, and our King 
Recount all thy wonders of grace, 

Thy praises eternally sing." 



SECTION I. 



THE EVERLASTING KINGDOM OF GOD 

Text: Psalms ciii. 19, " The Lord hath 
prepared his throne in the heavens, and his 
kingdom ruleth over all." 

According to this text, we understand 
that God prepared a throne for himself in 
the heavens, and reigned as the Supreme 
Ruler of the Universe of worlds, before this 
world, or our solar system of worlds was 
created. For he inhabiteth eternity, and 
we can no more consistently limit the be- 
ginning of his reign, than we can set bounds 
to the future duration of his dominion. 

Behold, God is great, and we know him not, neither 
can the number of his years be searched out. — Job 
xxxvi, 26. 

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth 
eternity, whose name is Holy ; I dwell in the high and 
holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and hum- 
ble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to re- 
vive the heart of the contrite ones. — Isa. lvii, 15. 

And while we expect that he will rule 
eternally hereafter, we may, with equal pro- 
priety, believe that his kingdom has ruled 
over the inhabitants of other worlds for mil- 
lions of years. 

For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yester- 
day when it is past, and as a watch in the night. — Psa. 
xc, 4. 

13 



14 



THE EVERLASTING 



Daniel describes the throne of God in a 
striking coincidence with the idea that the 
local place of God's throne is a Sun, or So- 
lar Planet ; around which other solar sys- 
tems revolve. 

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the An- 
cient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, 
and the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne 
was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning 
fire. 

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: 
thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thou- 
sand times ten thousand stood before him : the judg- 
ment was set, and the books were opened. — Dan. vii, 



How exactly does this agree with the fact 
of a planet of fire, surrounded with other 
planets of burning flame, as wheels revolv- 
ing like stars around the sun ! 



Wh en the door was opened in heaven to 
John's vision, he saw this throne, and him 
that sat upon it ; and also those that sur- 
rounded it. 

After this I looked, and behold, a door was opened in 
heaven : and the first voice which I heard, was as it 
were of a trumpet talking with me ; which said, Come 
up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be 
hereafter. 

And immediately I was in the Spirit : and behold, a 
throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a 
sardine stone : and there was a rainbow round about the 
throne in sight like unto an emerald. 

And round about the throne were four and twenty 
seats; and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders 
sitting, clothed in white raiment ; and they had on 
their heads crowns of gold. 



9, 10. 




KINGDOM OF GOP. 



15 



And out of the throne proceeded lightnings, and 
thunderings, and voices. And there were seven lamps 
of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven 
Spirits of God. 

And before the throne there was a sea of glass like 
unto crystal : And in the midst of the throne, and round 
about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and 
behind. 

And the first beast was like a lion, and the second 
beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a 
man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 

And the four beasts had each of them six wings about 
him; and they were full of eyes within : and they rest 
not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God 
Almignty, which was, and is, and is to come. 

And when those beasts give glory, and honor, and 
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for 
ever and ever, 

The four and twenty elders fall down before him that 
sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever 
and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, 
saying, 

Thou art worthy, Lord, to receive glory, and honor, 



thy pleasure they are and were created. — Rev. iv, 1-11. 

It has been very common for expositors 
to represent the Beasts and Elders, as being 
some class of mortal agents ; but, it is evi- 
dent that they are celestial beings. 

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord 
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train 
filled the temple. 

Above it stood the seraphims : each one had six 
wings ; with twain he covered his face, and with twain 
he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 

And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, 
holy, is the Lord of hosts i the whole earth is full of his 
glory. — Isa. vi, 1, 2, 3. 

Here they are called seraphims. These 
and the elders, as well as the innumerable 




created all things, and for 



16 



THE EVERLASTING 



company of angels, of whom Paul in Heb. 
xii, 22, and John in Rev. v, 11, speaks, are 
all celestial beings, who inhabit celestial 
worlds. And we have no more cause to 
doubt the existence of such beings, than we 
have to doubt the existence of man. 

Whereas angels, which are greater in power and 
might, bring not railing accusation against them before 
the Lord. — 2 Peter ii, 11. 

David speaks of these in connexion with 
the throne, which is prepared in the heavens. 

The Loan, hath prepared his throne in the heavens ; 
and his kingdom ruleth over all. 

Bless the Lord., ye his angels, that excel in strength, 
that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice 
of his word. — Psa. ciii, 19, 20, 

But of all the glorious hosts of celestial 
beings, that are spoken of as being connect- 
ed with God's throne, none are so wonder- 
ful and glorious as the Lamb, the Lion of 
the tribe of Judah. 

And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not : be- 
hold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, 
hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven 
seals thereof. 

And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and 
of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood 
the Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and 
seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent 
forth into all the earth. — Rev. v, 5, 6. 

This glorious personage, the four beasts, 
the four and twenty elders, all the angels, 
and every creature which is in heaven, and 
on the earth, and under the earth, and in 
the sea, join to worship in connexion with 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 



17 



him that sat on the throne, " saying, bless- 
ing and honor, and glory, and power be 
unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. v, 7, 
Moses mentions the heavens and the 
heaven of heavens. 

Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the 
Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. 
— Deut. x, 14. 

From this we understand that there are : 
First, the heaven which probably is the airy 
region of atmosphere with which this earth 
is surrounded. 

Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, 
and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven ? — Job 
xxxv, 11. 

And God called the firmament Heaven : and the eve- 
ning and the morning were the second day. — Gen. i, 8, 

The second are the regions of the heav- 
enly worlds, or the planetary system of 
worlds. 

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, 
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom 
also he made the worlds. — Heb. i, 2. 

The third is the celestial world, or solar 
luminary, around which all other solar sys- 
tems of worlds revolve ; and from which all 
centripetal and all centrifugal forces origi- 
nate. 

In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord 
sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train 
filled the temple. 

Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six 
wings ; with twain he covered his face, and with twain 
he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 



18 



THE EVEKLASTINU 



And one ceied unto another, and said, Holy, holy, 
holy, is the Lord of hosts : the whole earth is full of his 
glory. — Isa. vi, 1, 2, 3. 

But will God indeed dwell on the earth ? behold the 
heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee ; 
how much less this house that I have builded ? 

Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in 
heaven thv dwelling-place, and maintain their cause. — » 
1 Kings viii, 27, 29. 

Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and 
the earth is my footstool : where is the house that ye 
build unto me ? and where is the place of my rest ? — 
Isa. lxvi, 1. 

Many seem to be very incredulous about 
the local habitation of God, because they 
are unable to fix on any place in the world 
for his residence. But when we consider 
that there are, probably, worlds on worlds 
revolving in the immensity of space, around 
the heaven of heavens, we shall not depend 
on the discoveries of astronomers, nor be 
disposed to deny that God has a dwelling 
place where he personally resides. 

The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory 
above the heavens. 

Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on 
high. 

Who humbleth h imself to behold the things that are in 
heaven, and in the earth ? — Psa. cxiii, 4, 5, 6. 

Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, thou that dwellest in 
the heavens. — Psa. cxxiii, 1. 

The argument, that if God is omnipotent, 
omnipresent, and omniscient, his centre 
must be every where, proves too much. 
For it deprives him of independent iden- 
tity, and renders him incapable of locomo- 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 



19 



tion, action, or knowledge. For how can a 
being who fills all space, remove from one 
place to another? or move to action? or 
even receive any knowledge of any event 
beyond his own inactive existence? But, 
say some, how can his power be exerted ? 
and his influence to be felt ? and his know- 
ledge extend every where if he exists in per- 
sonal form, and has a local habitation ? I 
answer by inquiring, how any ruler on 
earth exerts his power? and causes his in- 
fluence to be felt, and* knows what trans- 
pires in his dominion, while he is located 
personally on the throne ? It may be an- 
swered: by seeing and hearing. Well, if 
man can see beyond his own personal ex- 
istence, or hear, by acoustics, from afar, shall 
we limit the capability of him, with whom 
there is no darkness ? or think him incapa- 
ble of distinguishing pneumatical sounds ? 
If our optics of vision can discern objects, 
and our organs of hearing can distinguish 
sounds for many miles, for aught we can 
tell, God can see and hear every thing in 
the universe. 

Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in 
his sight : but all things are naked and opened unto 
the eyes of him with whom we have to do. — Heb. iv, 13. 

It is certain that the resurrected body of 
Jesus Christ personally exists somewhere. 
And yet he can be with his disciples to the 



20 



THE EVERLASTING 



end of the world. Paul says he has ascend- 
ed up where he was before he descended. 

What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up 
where he was before ? — John vi, 62* 

He that descended is the same also that ascended up 
far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.— 
Eph. iv. 10. 

And Stephen says he saw him standing on 
the right hand of God. 

And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the 
Son of marl standing on the right hand of God. — Acts 
vii, 56. 

This perfectly harmonizes with the lan- 
guage of wisdom, in personifying Christ in 
his pre-existent state. 

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or 
ever the earth was. 

"When there were no depths, I was brought forth ; 
when there were no fountains abounding with water. 

Before the mountains were settled, before the hills 
was I brought forth : 

While as yet he had not made the eearth, nor the 
fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. 

When he prepared the heavens, I was there : when 
he set a compass upon the face of the depth: 

When he established the clouds above : when he 
strengthened the fountains of the deep : 

"When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters 
should not pass his commandment ; when he appointed 
the foundations of the earth : 

Then I was by him, as one brought up with him : 
and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before 
him : 

Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth ; and my 
delights were with the sons of men. — Prov. viii, 23-31. 

If, then, Jesus Christ still exists in per- 
sonal form, and is on the right hand of God, 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 



21 



is it inconsistent to believe that God exists 
in personal form, and has a local residence? 
If any one will tell me where that body 
which ascended in the sight of the five hun- 
dred witnesses is, I will tell where God is, 
for Christ is at his right hand. And though 
we are not able to soar, in our discoveries, 
so high as to fix on the local place, in the 
immensity of space, where God resides, yet 
it is no argument that he has no local place 
where his throne is prepared, and where he 
exists in the heaven of heavens. 

And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that 
came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is 
in heaven. — St John iii, 13. 

Look down from heaven, and behold from the habi- 
tation of thy holiness and of thy glory : where is thy 
zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and 
of thy mercies toward me ? are they restrained ?— -Isa. 
lxiii, 15. 

In contemplating the throne and kingdom 
of God, we are not only led to consider his 

Eersonal existence, and the throne on which 
e reigns, but also the elements of his king- 
dom, and the order of his dominion " over 
all." 

The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have 
lifted up their voice ; the floods lift up their waves. — 
Psa. xciii, 3. 

After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father 
which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth as it 
is in heaven. — Matt vi, 9, 10. 

As God has proved himself to be a being 



22 



THE EVERLASTING 



of infinite goodness, wisdom, and power, it 
is not only rational but obligatory to believe 
that he has exerted those attributes, in the 
creation and government of all the crea- 
tures he has made ; and that for the pur- 
poses of sustaining, instructing and con- 
trolling them, he has associated and organ- 
ized a universal kingdom ; and so consti- 
tuted its elements and order, as to secure 
the exercise of justice, judgment, and love 
in the execution of his dominion over all 
worlds. 

Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: 
mercy and truth shall go before thy face. — Psalms 
lxxxix, 14. 

But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city 
of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
innumerable company of angels, 

To the general assembly and church of the first-born, 
which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of 
all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. 

And to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and 
to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things 
than that of Abel.— Heb. xii, 22, 23, 24. 

As love is a principle of his nature, so 
justice and judgment are the habitation of 
his throne; while mercy and truth go before 
his face. And sooner would a world sink, 
than that either of these divine and essen- 
tial principles should fail to be executed in 
his kingdom. Consequently, whatever may 
be our imaginary notions about the manner 
in which these principlds can be harmoni- 
ously executed, it must be admitted that 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 



23 



the system of divine economy exercised by 
the All-wise Creator and Governor of the 
Universe, is perfectly right. And that it is 
our duty to believe the revelation he has 
made concerning it. 

Clouds and darkness are round about hirn : righteous- 
ness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. — ■ 
Psa. xcvii, 2. 

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe 
not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly 
things ?— St. John iii, 12. 

Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen 
the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the 
kingdom which he hath promised to them that love 
him. — James ii, 5. 

"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be 
moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God 
acceptably, with reverence and godly fear. — Heb. xii, 28, 

Then it becomes us, without attempting 
to be his counsellors, or to instruct or reply 
against God, to submit to his authority with 
confidence in his goodness and righteous- 
ness ; and to set to our seal that God is 
true, in all that he has said, as well as in 
all his works and ways. 

Kay but, man, who art thou that repliest against 
God ? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed 
it. Why hast thou made me thus % — Rom. ix, 20. 

For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or who 
hath been his counsellor? — Rom. xi, 34. 

In this manner we may enquire to know 

his will concerning us, and be reconciled to 

him ; and by acquaintance with him be at 

peace with him. 

Righteous art thou, Lord, when I plead with thee : 
yet let me talk with thee of ^judgments. — Jer. xii, L 



24 



THE EVERLASTINu 



But if we distrust his word, we shall be 
sure to distrust his goodness, and reject the 
proffer of his mercy, and being unrecon- 
ciled, indulge a carnal mind of enmity 
against God. 

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God : for 
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can 
be. — Rom. riii, 7. 

How important then, it must be for us to 
divest ourselves of confidence in our own 
wisdom, and to come to the light of divine 
truth as it is revealed in the Word of God, 
to gain an understanding that will qualify 
us to speak of the glory of his kingdom and 
talk of his power, in praising him for his 
goodness, and for his wonderful works. 

They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and 
talk 01 thy power ; 

To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, 
and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. 

Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy 
dominion enditreth throughout all generations. — Psa. 
cxlv, 11, 12, 13. 

Kelying, then, upon the truth of the as- 
sertion of the inspired Apostle, that the 
kingdom of God is righteousness, and peace, 
and joy in the Holy Ghost, I attempt to 
advance in the consideration and illustra- 
tion of what is revealed in the Scriptures of 
Truth, concerning the elements and phases 
of the kingdom of God in this world and 
that which is to come. 

Believing that the same rational and per* 



KINGDOM OF GOD. 



25 



feet system of divine economy is exercised, 
in all worlds, in the government of Angels 
and Seraphs, that are the basis of God's na- 
ture, and the habitation of his throne, I 
shall not attempt further to illustrate the 
order of his government in other worlds, 
but shall confine myself to what is revealed 
in the Old and New Testaments of the Bi- 
ble, concerning his kingdom administered 
to the inhabitants of this world, by his son 
Jesus Christ. 

Four elements are essential to a perfect, 
well organized kingdom, viz: 1. A King, 
2. Subjects. 3. Territory ; and, 4. Law. 

All these elements are found in the ever- 
lasting kingdom of God. The Self-existent 
and Eternal Jehovah is the Supreme Euler 
of the Universe. All other rational, intel- 
ligent beings, are his subjects, over whom 
he reigns. All worlds, comprising not only 
our solar system of worlds, but the heaven 
of heavens where God resides, and all other 
systems of worlds revolving around it, are 
the territory of his everlasting kingdom. 
And that eternal rule of right, based on 
principles of justice and judgment, reveal- 
ing the will of God, is the law by which he 
governs the universe. 

So, likewise, in the lvvelation of his 
word, we are to expect to find all these ele- 
ments in the different phases in which the 
kingdom of God appears, 



26 



FOREORDINATION OF 



With this expectation, then, I proceed to 
an examination of the Scriptures of truth, 
which are the only infallible source of infor- 
mation on this, and every other subject of 
revelation. 



SECTION II. 

FOREORDINATION OF GOD'S CHOSEN KING. 

Text: 1 Pet. i, 20,21. "Who verily 
was foreordained before the foundation of 
the world, but was manifest in these last 
times for you ; who by him do believe in 
God, who raised him from the dead, and 
gave him glory, that your faith and hope 
might be in God." 

Having thus noticed God's everlasting 
kingdom, and the throne which he has pre- 
pared in the heavens, I shall pass to the 
consideration of the preparation of his king- 
dom in this world. 

The first preparatory element of his king- 
dom in this world was the foreordination 
of his Son, as King of Kings and Lord of 
Lords. 

And lie hath on his vesture and on his thigh, a name 
written, KING OF KINGS, AND LOUD OF LORDS. 
— Rey. xix, 16. 



god's chosen king. 



27 



In the text Christ is represented in three 
different states. First, in his pre-existence, 
at the beginning. Second, in his humilia- 
tion, as manifest for us in the flesh. Third, 
in his state of exaltation and glory in 
heaven. 

In order to understand his true character, 
we must consider his nativity, his admin- 
istration, and his reign. 

In the gospel, written by the apostle John, 
we find his native character described as at 
the beginning. 

In the beninning was the Word, and the Word was 
with God, and the Word was God. — Johni, 1. 

Here we learn that he is God. But not 
the same identical God that he was with ; 
for this would confound the harmony of lan- 
guage, and destroy all relation existing be- 
tween the Father and Son. How then shall 
we understand this passage? Answer: by 
considering the explanation given by John 
in the 14th verse. 

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, 
(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only be- 
gotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. — John 
i, 14. 

The glory, here spoken of, Christ had 

with the Father before the world was. 

And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own 
self, with the glory which I had with thee before the 
world was. — John vii, 5. 

And the apostle informs us wherein this 
glory consisted. 



28 



10RE0RDINATI0N OF 



Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son , 
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom 
also he made the 'worlds ; 

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the ex- 
press image of his person, and upholding all things by 
the word of his power, when he had by himself purged 
our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on 
high.— Heb. 1,2, 3. 

As a son inherits the sire name of his 
father, by virtue of the relation he bears to 
him in his nature; so also Christ has ob- 
tained, by inheritance, a more excellent 
name than the angels, by virtue of the rela- 
tion he bears to God in his nature. This 
name and relationship are both explained 
in the fifth and eighth verses. 

For unto which of the angels said he at any time, 
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee ? And 
again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me 
a Son? 

But unto the Son, he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for 
ever and ever : a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre 
of thy kingdom. — Heb. i, 5, 8. 

God has created creatures with natures 
different from his own ; but he never begot 
a being without giving him a divine nature; 
consequently as Christ possessed divine na- 
ture, so he was entitled to the divine name 
of God, and divine honors. These divine 
honors he received by authority of God's 
command, who said, "let all the angels 
worship him." Hence, Christ did not think 
it robbery to be equal with God. 

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ 
Jesus. — PhiL ii, 5. 



god's chosen king 



29 



Which he wrought in Christ when he raised him 
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the 
heavenly places. 

Far above all principality, and power, and might, 
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only 
in this world, but also in that which is to come. — Eph.j, 
20, 21. 

The Jews thought it robbery for him to 
profess this relation to God, and accused 
him of blasphemy, because he said I am 
the Son of God. 

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, 
I said, Ye are gods ? 

If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God 
came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 

Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified, and 
sent into the world, Thou blasphemest ; because I said, 
I am the Son of God ? 

With this explanation we see that it is 
not idolatry, nor blasphemy, to call Jesus 
Christ God, nor to worship both the Father 
and the Son, as divine beings. For what 
other name could be given that is above 
every name, f named in this world, and in 
that which is to come, but the name of 
God? 

For he hath put all things under his feet. But when 
he saith all things are put under Mm, it is manifest that 
he is excepted which did put all things under him. — 1 
Cor. xv, 27. 

Having thus noticed the nativity of Jesus 
Christ, and found it to be divine, I now 
propose to consider his Ministration. This 
consists in three offices. First, as a Proph- 
et, to teach. Second, as a Priest, to oifer 



30 



FOREORDINATION OF 



sacrifice, and intercede with God. And, 
Third, as a King, to judge and rule the 
world. 

In Dent, xviii, 15, 18, 19, Moses describes 
Christ as a Prophet, and shows his official 
work in that office. 

The Lord thy God. will raise up unto thee a Prophet 
from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me ; 
unto him ye shall hearken. 

I will raise them up a Prophet from among their 
brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his 
mouth ; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall 
command him. 

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not 
hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my 
name, I will require it of him. — Deut. xviii, 15, 18, 19. 

From this we learn that the w r ork of a 
Prophet is to teach the words of God, as 
received by Inspiration ; and his duty i& to 
speak all that God commands. This, Christ 
has wisely and faithfully done. 

For all things that I have heard of my Father, I have 
made known unto you. — John xv, 15. 

For he whom God hath sent, speaketh the words of 
God : for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto 
him. — John iii, 34. 

As a Priest, Jesus Christ was made after 
the order of Melchizedek, and w&s called of 
God, as was Aaron. 

The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art 
a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. — Psalms 
cx, 4. 

Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, 
made an high priest forever after the order of Melchize- 
dek.— Heb. vi, 20. 

Melchizedek was king of Salem, at the 



god's chosen king. 



same time that he was priest of the most 
high God. Hence, the order of his Priest- 
hood was that of a King Priest. And as 
a prototype of Christ he was without fa- 
ther, without mother, without descent; hav- 
ing neither beginning of days nor end of 
life. That is, he did not receive his Priest- 
hood by descent, from his father, or mother; 
nor come into it at any particular age, nor 
go out of it at any period of life, like the 
Levitical Priests. See Heb. vii, 1 — 3. 

Aaron was called of God, and, after be- 
ing consecrated by sacrifices, he was invest- 
ed with the royal insignia of the office of a 
Pligh Priest, and passed through the sanc- 
tuary into the holy place, bearing the blood 
of the victims slain and offered upon the 
altar without the camp with him, to sprin- 
kle upon the mercy seat. Also the vial of 
odorous incense to pour upon the golden 
altar, for a memorial before the throne. 

So likewise Jesus must have somewhat 
to offer as a sacrifice. Hence a body was 
prepared for him. 

Wherefore, when he cometh into the world, he saith, 
Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body 
hast thou prepared me : 

In burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had 
no pleasure. 

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He 
taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 

By the which will we are sanctified through the of- 
fering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. — Heb. 
x, 5, 6, 9, 10. 



FOREORDINATION OF 



He has appeared in the end of the world 
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 
Hebrews ix, 26. He therefore has passed 
through the church, which was represented 
by the first apartment of the Tabernacle, 
and entered into heaven itself, typified by 
the Holy Place, or second apartment of the 
Tabernacle, called the Holy of Holies, to 
appear in the presence of God for us. 

He pleads the virtue of his owu blood be- 
fore the mercy-seat ; and pours the vial of 
incense, which is the prayers of all saints, 
upon the Golden Altar before the throne of 
God. 

But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb 
without blemish and without spot. — 1 Peter i, 19. 

And another angel came and stood at the altar, hav- 
ing a golden censer ; and there was given unto him 
much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers 
of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the 
throne. 

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the 
prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the 
angeFs hand. — Rev. viii, 3, 4. 

The tribes of Israel were solicitous to 
know that their High Priest was permitted 
to live while interceding for them ; and, for 
the purpose of satisfying them of the effi- 
cacy of his intercession, three tokens of the 
good will of him who appeared to Moses in 
the burning bush, were exhibited, while 
their High Priest was within the veil. 

The sound of the golden bells, which were 
strung around his robe, was heard to ring, 



god's chosen king. 



33 



while the High Priest moved from the 
Golden Altar to the Mercy-seat and spread 
his hands between the chernbims of glory, 
that overshadowed the Mercy-seat. 

A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a 
pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. 

And it shall be upon Aaron, to minister: and his 
sound shall be heard when he goeth into the holy place 
before the Lord, and when he cometh out, that he die 
not. — Exod. xxviii, 34, 35. 

2. The reflection of glory was seen in the 
crystal waters, contained in the basin, borne 
by the images of twelve oxen, made of 
brass ; which was deposited before the 
throne, where the congregation could look 
into it, as in a mirror, and see the seconda- 
ry appearance of the glory of God, when the 
grand Shekinah stood as a cloud above the 
cherubims. 

Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the 
threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims. — 
Ezek. x, 18. 

3. The cloudy pillow that guided the 
inarching tribes of Israel through the wil- 
derness, came down and rested on the Tab- 
ernacle without. This was called the Cloud 
of Witness, to show the good will of him 
who dwelt in the Burning Bush. 

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of 
a cloud, and led them the way ; and by the night in a 
pillar of fire, to give them light : to go by day and 
night. 

And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the taber- 
nacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the 



FOREORDINATION OF 



door of tlie tabernacle, and the LORD talked with 
Moses. — Exod. xiii, 21, and xxxiii, 9. 

Christ also exhibits to his church tokens 
of divine favor to satisfy his followers that 
Ci he ever lives to make intercession for us. 

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the utter- 
most that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth 
to make intercession for them. — Heb. vii, 25.. 

1. A more salubrious sound than that of 
the golden bells, is heard by the witness of 
the Spirit of Adoption, " that is sent into 
our hearts crying, Abba, Father," (that is> 
willing Father). 

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again 
to fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father.— Rom. viii, 15, 

This Spirit is the earnest of our inherit- 
ance. 

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word 
of truth, the gospel of your salvation : in whom also, 
after that ye believed, ye were scaled with that Holy 
Spirit of promise, 

Which is the earnest of onr inheritance until the re- 
demption of the purchased possession, unto the praise 
of his glory.— -Eph. i, 13, 14. 

An earnest is a certain portion or part of 
the price or sum stipulated by the parties 
of a contract, or covenant, advanced, at the 
time of entering into the contract, as a to- 
ken that the parties were in earnest in 
making the covenant. Thus, the Lord, who 
considers his people in this world in a mi- 
nor state of childhood, has graciously given 
them the Holy Spirit, as a seal, or earnest. 



god's chosen king 



35 



of the rich inheritance he has given them, 
by his last will and testament. 

2. The light of the gospel now exhibited, 
as in a transparent mirror, is seen in the 
molten sea of God's love to the world, in the 
gift of his Son. 

But we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass 
the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image 
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. — 
2 Corinthians iii, 18. 

Transparent glasses had not been invent- 
ed in the time of the giving of the law, 
hence the people beheld their likeness in 
crystal waters. 

As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of 
man to man. — Pro v. xxvii, 19. 

But, in the days of the Apostles, such 
glass mirrors had come into use, and there- 
fore the figure is changed from a molten 
sea to a glass which is represented as a sea 
of glass mingled with fire. 

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: 
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, 
and over his image, and over his mark, and over the 
number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having 
the harps of God. — Rev. xv, 2. 

3. The Patriarchs, and Prophets, and 
Apostles, and Saints, are represented as a 
Cloud of Witnesses, answering to the cloud 
of witnesses that appeared to Israel, as a 
cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. 

Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with 
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every 
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us. and 



36 



F0RE0RD1NATI0N OF 



let us run with patience the race that is set before us. — 
Heb. xii, 1 . 

A cloud is but a mere body of vapor col- 
lected in the atmosphere. But when filled 
with water, exhaled by the influence of the 
sun; and put in motion by the power of the 
wind, the clouds subserve the important 
purpose of refreshing the parched earth with, 
showers of rain. So, also, the cloud of 
God's witnesses, when influenced by the Sun 
of Bighteousness and moved by the power 
of the Holy Ghost, go to and fro through 
the world, and pour forth that doctrine that 
drops like the rain, to refresh the drooping 
plants of Zion. 

Give ear, ye heavens, and I will speak; and hear, 
earth, the words of my mouth. 

My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall 
distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender 
herb, and as the showers upon the grass. — Deut. xxxii, 
1, 2. 

We have, therefore, a High Priest that 
becomes us, to minister in holy things per- 
taining to God, in both the sanctuary, the 
church, and also in the true tabernacle 

HEAVEN ITSELF. 

For such an high priest became us, whoisholy, harm- 
less, underiled, separate from sinners, and made higher 
than the heavens. 

Now of the things which we have spoken this is the 
sum : We have- such an high priest, who is set on the 
right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens ; 

A minister of the sanctuary, and oi the true taberna- 
cle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. — Heb. vii, 
26, and viii, 1, 2. 



god's chosen King. 



37 



Well might the apostle say then : 

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest, that is 
passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us 
hold fast our profession. — Heb. iv, 14. 

But Christ, like Melchizedek, is King as 
well as a Priest. Melchizedek reigned in 
righteousness and peace, in Salem, after the 
days of Noah. From which we infer that 
he was Shem, the eldest son of Noah ; who, 
as the patriarch of the family of Noah, not 
only officiated as a priest, in offering sacri- 
fices and prayers for his people, but exer- 
cised dominion over them as a nation, and 
ruled them as a King. 

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread 
and wine : and he was the priest of the most high God. 
— Gen. xiv, 18. 

So Jesus Christ reigns in righteousness 
and peace, in the Jeru-Salem, which is 
above, which is the Mother of us all. 

But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the 
mother of us all. — Gal. iv, 26. 

Thus Christ was set up of old in the be- 
ginning, as God's elect, to bring forth judg- 
ment unto truth. 

The Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, 
before his works of old. 

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or 
ever the earth was. — Prov. viii, 22, 23. 

Behold my servant, whom I uphold ; mine elect, in 
whom my soul delighteth ; I have put my Spirit upon 
Mm : he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 

He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be 
heard in the street. 

A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking 



38 



i'OJttEORDl NATION OF 



flax shall he not quench : he shall bring forth judg- 
ment unto truth. 

He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set 
judgment in the earth : and the isles shall wait for his 
law. 

Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens, 
and stretched them out ; he that spread forth the earth, 
and that which cometh out of it ; he that giveth breath 
unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk 
therein : 

I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will 
hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for 
a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles ; 

To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners 
from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of 
the prison-house. — Isa. xlii, 1 — 7. 

In the very heavens God chose his Son to 
be a King. 

For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever : thy 
faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. 

I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have 
sworn unto David my servant. — Psalms lxxxix, 2, 3. 

Being thus foreordained, or elected and 
chosen, according to the text, he was an- 
nointed and set upon the holy hill of Zion. 

Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion.— 
Psalms ii, 6. 

He was prophesied of by Jacob, as Shiloh 
to come ; and by Balaam, as the Star to 
come out of Jacob, higher than the kings 
of the earth. 

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law- 
giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come : and 
unto him shall the gathering of the people be. 

I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but 
not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a 
Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the cor- 
ners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. 



UOD'S CHOSEN KING. 



39 



Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion 
and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city. — Num. 
xxiv, 17, 19. 

Isaiah thus predicts his character and 
government : 

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given : 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder : and 
his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The 
mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of 
Peace. 

Of the increase of his government and peace there 
shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his 
kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment 
and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The 
zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. — Isaiah ix s 
6, 7. 

Luke records the language of Gabriel con- 
cerning him as a King. 

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the 
Highest ; and the Lord God shall give unto him the 
throne of his father David. 

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; 
and of his kingdom there shall be no end. — Luke i, 
32, 33. 

To this agree the words of God by Nathan 
the Prophet. 

And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep 
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which 
shall proceed out of thy bowels, 'and I will establish 
his kingdom- 
He shall build an house for my name, and I will 
stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.* — 2 Samuel 
vii, 12, 13. 

From these, and many other declarations 
of the holy Scriptures, it is established that 
Jesus Christ is endowed with kingly power 
to rule and judge the world ; and by him, 
and for him all things are created and sub- 



40 



F RE OK D i IN A 1 1 N F 



sist, and are upheld by tlie word of his 
power. 

And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, All 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. — Matt, 
xxviii, 18. 

For by hitn were all things created, that are in heav- 
en, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether 
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or pow- 
ers : all things were created by him, and for him : 

And he is before all things, and by him all things 
consist. 

And he is the head of the body, the church : who is 
the beginning, the first-born from the dead ; that in all 
things he might have the pre-eminence. — Col. i, 16, 
17, *18. 

Thus, while the Father reigns enthroned 
in the heaven of heavens, and his kingdom 
rules over all worlds, he has committed all 
judgment unto his Son Jesus Christ, whose 
name shall be called Emanuel, God with us. 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring 
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel 
which being interpreted is, God with us. — Matt, i, 23. 

" Burst ye emerald gates and bring 

To my raptur'd vision, 
. All the ecstatic joys that spring 

Around the bright elysium. 
Lo ! we lift our longing eyes, 
Break ye intervening skies ; 
Sun of Righteousness arise, 
Ope the gates of Paradise. 

Floods of everlasting light, 

Freely flash before him : 
Myriads with supreme delight, 

Instantly adore him : 
Angel's trumps resound his fame, 
Lutes of lucid gold proclaim 
All the music of his name ; 
Heaven echoing the same, 



gob's chosen king. 



Four and twenty elders rise 
From their princely station, 

Shout his glorious victories, 
Sing the great salvation ; 

Cast their crowns before his throne, 

Cry in reverential tone, 

Glory be to God alone, 

Holy, holy, holy One. 

One broad rainbow round the throne, 

Pours celestial splendor, 
All within the brilliant zone, 

To empyreal grandeur. 
Heaven's pure arch reflects the blaze 
Seraph's sing, admire and gaze, 
Glowing cherubs join the lays, 
Martyrs shout responding praise. 

Hark ! the thrilling symphony 
Seems, methinks, to seize us, 

Join we to the holy lay, 
Jesus ! Jesus ! Jesus ! 

Sweetest sound in seraphs sung ! 

Sweetest note on mortal tongue ! 

Sweetest coral ever sung ! 

Jesus ! 'Jesus ! flow along !" 



SECTION in: 



THE SUBJECTS OF THE KINGDOM. 

Text: Heb. ii, 6, 7, " What is man, that 
thou art mindful of him? or the Son of 
man, that thou visitest him ? Thou madest 
him a little lower than the angels; thou 
crown edst him with glory and honor, and 
didst set him over the works of thy hands." 

In this text we have two classes of crea- 
tures spoken of: angels and men. But 
angels were not made to dwell upon the 
earth, nor to exercise dominion over the 
world. 

For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the 
world to come whereof we speak. — Heb. ii, 5. 

The apostle was here speaking of the fu- 
ture residue of the world, under the dispen- 
sation of the gospel. But while we are to 
understand that this world is not put in sub- 
jection to them, we are not to infer that 
they do not exist ; nor that they have not an 
important ministry committed to them as 
guardian spirits over the righteous living 
and dead : nor yet that they may not have 
high authority in other worlds. 

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even thou- 
sands of angels : the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, 
in the holy place. — Psalms lxviii, 27. 

42 



THE KINGD0S1. 



43 



Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones: 
for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do al- 
ways behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, 
and he shall presently give me more than twelve le- 
gions of angels ? — Math, xviii, 10; xxvi, 53. 

Too many mod ra theologians, like the 
Saducees, are incredulous concerning the 
existence of angels and spirits ; but the 
Scriptures give accounts of both; as living 
identical existences or agents. The law 
was ordained by the agency of angels. Gal. 
iii, 19. And by angels the Savior was es- 
corted, while a multitude of the heavenly 
host sang praises on the earth. 

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude 
of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good 
will toward men. — Luke ii, 13, 14. 

But while we contemplate the character 
of the heavenly host, our attention is direct- 
ed, in the text, to another class of God's 
creatures, which are made a little, and prob- 
ably but a little, lower than angels. 

Man was made to have dominion over the 
works of God, in this lower world. 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness : and let them have dominion over the fish 
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the 
cattle, and over all the earth, and over every ceeeping 
thing that creepeth upon the earth.— Gen. i, 26. 

Although man was made to have domin- 
ion over the works of God here in this 
world, he was not constituted an indepen- 



THE SUBJECTS <>j 



dent or despotic sovereign, either individu- 
ally, nor in any associated capacity. Con- 
sequently both Monarchy and Popular Sov- 
ereignty are assumptions of power, not 
granted, and when exercised, in an ultra 
manner, are no more justifiable than Aris- 
tocracy, or Anarchy. But either of these 
can be tolerated, by God and man, with 
propriety, when exercised in righteousness. 
— Luke xx, 25. The form of government, 
wdiich God has ordained, is a Theocracy, 
in which he reserves to himself the supreme 
authority to rule, by the exercise of divine 
power. 

This divine power was first exercised in 
relation to the government of the world of 
mankind, in the choice and appointment of 
his Son, as King. Second, in giving man 
dominion over his works, in subjection to 
his commands and prohibitions. 

In this manner man was capable of gov- 
erning, both himself, and the creatures com- 
mitted to his charge. 

He was made in the image of God, both 
in respect to his physical organization, his 
mental faculties, and also in relation to 
moral principles and sympathies ; and, be- 
ing favored with divine instruction, was 
capable of having knowledge of the nature 
and proper use of every thing. 

All the fishes of the sea and the fowls of 
the heavens were in perfect subjection, and 



THE KINGDOM. 



45 



docile. His help mete was bone of his 
bone and flesh of his flesh ; and perfectly 
sympathized with him, in all his enjoy- 
ments ; while sickness, pain, and sorrow 
were unknown to them, and all their wants 
were anticipated with every thing good, and 
very good. 

So God created man in his own image, in the image 
of God created he him ; male and female created he 
them. 

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be 
fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and 
subdue it : and have dominion over the fish of the sea, 
and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing 
that moveth upon the earth. 

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb 
bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, 
and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yield- 
ing seed ; to you it shall be for meat. 

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of 
the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, 
wherein there is life, / have given every green herb for 
meat : and it was so. 

And God saw every thing that he, had made : and be- 
hold, it was very good. And the evening and the morn- 
ing were the sixth -day.— Gen. i, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31. 

Angels with pleasure ministered to them; 
Christ's delights were with them; and God 
loved them and visited them. Well might 
the Prophet exclaim — 

Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and be horribly 
afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 

For my people have committed two evils ; they have 
forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed 
them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no 
water. — Jer. ii, 12, 13. 

Thus, by one man's disobedience, sin en- 



46 



THE SUBJECTS OF 



tered into the world, and death by sin has 
passed upon all men* 

Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, 
and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, 
for that all have sinned. — Rom. v, 12. 

In this fallen, degenerated state, impaired 
in his physical constitution, confused in his 
mental faculties, and corrupted in his sym- 
pathies, and recreant to moral principles, 
man finds himself, by the first reflections of 
divine light upon his understanding, alien- 
ated from the life of God ; a child of wrath, 
treasuring up to himself wrath against the 
day of wrath, and the revelation of the 
righteous judgment of God. 

Having the understanding darkened, being alienated 
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in 
them, because of the blindness of their heart. 

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the 
course of the world, according to the prince of the power 
of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children 
of disobedience : 

Among whom also we all had our conversation in 
times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires 
of the flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature the 
children of wrath, even as others. — Eph- iv, 18; ii, 2, 3. 

But aft** thy hardness and impenitent heart, treas- 
urest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, 
and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; 

Who will render to every man according to his 
deeds. 

In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men 
by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel. — Rom. ii, 5„ 
6, 16. 

Well might David say: 

Nevertheless man being in honor abideth not : he is 

like the beasts thai perish. — Psa. xlix, 12, 



THE KINGDOM. 



47 



But the apostle, on discovering the failure 
of man, and his unworthiness of the mind- 
fulness and visitings of the Lord, exultingly 
exclaims : 

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than 
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with 
glory and honor ; that he by the grace of God should 
taste death for every man. 

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by 
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, 
to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through 
sufferings. — Heb. ii, 9, 10. 

At a very early period in the world, men 
began to exercise faith, and to call upon the 
name of the Lord. Gen. iv, 26. 

Abel is the first that is mentioned as hav- 
ing faith. From which we infer that there 
can be but faint hopes of the salvation of 
Adam or Eve. And, as their transgression 
was not like that of their posterity, we have 
reason to fear, in the absence of any ac- 
count of their repentance or reformation, 
that they are lost, as all others will be, who 
are disobedient to truth, if they continue to 
obey unrighteousness. 

But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey 
the truth, but obey unrighteousness ; indignation ancl 
wrath, 

Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man 
that doeth evil ; of the Jew first, and also of the Gen- 
tile.— Rom. ii, 8, 9. 

But, we turn from the sorrowful doom of 
the impenitent, to contemplate the prospects 



48 



THE SUBJECTS OF 



of those who repent, believe, and obey the 
gospel. 

To them who by patient continuance in well-doing, 
seek for glory, and honor, and immortality ; eternal 
life. 

But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that work- 
eth good ; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile. — 
Rom. ii, 7, 10. 

By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sac- 
rifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he 
was righteous, God testifying of his gifts : and by it he 
being dead yet speaketh. — Heb. xi, 4. 

Not that Cain's offering was less valua- 
ble than Abel's, but while Cain's represent- 
ed works as though he expected to repay 
the Lord for evils he had done, Abel's indi- 
cated a consciousness that sin is so exceed- 
ing sinful, that without shedding of blood 
there can be no remission. And also that 
he believed that God would prepare a sac- 
rifice for himself to take away sin. 

So also Enoch found that faith was suffi- 
ciently powerful to enable him to walk with 
God, three hundred years. 

By faith Enoch was translated, that he should not 
see death ; and was not found, because God had trans- 
lated him: for before his translation he had this testi- 
mony, that he pleased God. — Heb. xi, 5. 

The patriarchs, and prophets, and saints 
of old, obtained great deliverances, and a 
good report through faith. 

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought 
righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths 
of lions, 

Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the 



THE KINliDOM, 



sw ord, out of weakness were made strong, waxed val- 
iant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 

Women received their dead raised to life again : and 
others were tortured, not accepting deliverance ; that 
they might obtain a better resurrection. 

And these all, having obtained a good report through 
faith, received not the promise : 

God having provided some better thing for us, that 
thev without us should not be made perfect. — Heb. xi, 
33/34, 35, 39, 40. 

Here we find that God has made provi- 
sion for us also ; also to be made perfect 
with them. 

This is explained by Peter in a very clear 
light. 

Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and 
searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that 
should come unto you : 

Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of 
Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified 
beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that 
should follow. 

Unto whom it,was revealed, that not unto themselves, 
but unto us they did minister the things which are now* 
reported unto you by them that have preached the gos- 
pel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from 
heaven ; which things the angels desire to look into. — 
1 Peter i, 10, 11, 12 

We see, then, that under both the dispen- 
sations of the Law and Gospel, some have 
found it practicable to believe, to the saving 
of their souls; while others have found it 
practicable to remain impenitent and unbe- 
lieving. 

Such is the history of man, whom God 
created to be the subjects of his kingdom ; 
4 



THE SUBJECTS 01 



and such as obey, he will prepare and re- 
ceive into the kingdom of his Son. 

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath translated us into the ksngd m of his dear 
Son.— Col. i, 13. 

Christ told his disciples that it is the good 
will of God to give the kingdom to his 
saints. 

Fear not, little flosk ; for it is your Father's good 
pleasure to give you the kingdom/— -Luke xii, 32. 

For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you 
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 
and Savior Jesus Christ. — 2 Peter i, 11. 

And the prophet says : 

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness 
of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given 
to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose 
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions 
shall serve and obey him. — Dan. vii, 27. 

And when Christ shall come in the glory 
of his Father, and all the holy angels with 
him, he will announce the welcome procla- 
mation. 

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand. 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom 
prepared for you from the foundation of the world. — 
Matt, xxv, 34. 

But we are emphatically told, by the 
apostle Paul, that the unrighteous shall not 
inherit the kingdom of God. 

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit 
the kingdom of God ? Be not deceived ; neither forni- 
cators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor 
abusers of themselves with mankind, 

Kor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revi- 



THE KINGDOM. 



51 



lers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 
1 Cor. vi, 9, 10. 

For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean 
person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any 
inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. — Eph. 
v. 5. 

With what propriety, then, might Christ 
exhort and teach men to seek first the king- 
dom ! 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his right- 
eousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 
—Matt, vi, 33. 

Having thus considered the character, 
history, and prospects of Man, I pass to the 
consideration of another essential element 
of the kingdom. That is the place or the 
local habitation of the subjects of the king- 
dom. For all distinct, identical beings 
must necessarily have space to exist, and 
room to move, and it would be nonsense to 
talk of a kingdom that has no country or 
territory. 



SECTION IV. 

THE TERRITORY OF THE KINGDOM. 

Text: Heb. xi, 16: "But now they de- 
sire a better country ; that is, an heavenly : 
wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 



5:J 



THE TEKKlTUlil' OF 



their God ; for he hath prepared for them a 
city." 

In the beginning God created the earth 
for man to dwell on: and, in its primeval or 
Eden state, it was adapted to the condition 
of man, and was in every part suitable to 
be inhabited by man. 

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to 
dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined 
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their hab- 
itation. — Acts xvii, 26. 

But this is not the condition of the earth 
at present ; for a great proportion of the 
torrid and frigid zones, and some parts of 
the temperate zones are unsuitable for man 
to -dwell on ; and. consequently, man could 
not dwell on all the face of the earth in the 
deranged condition in which it is now 
found. 

When the heavens and earth were first 
created, the waters were gathered to one 
place, and the dry land appeared. Proba- 
bly the earth was then one unbroken belt or 
round the waters, under the firmament, 
which were called seas, and which filled the 
vacuum caused by the elevation of the 
earth, and passing through the earth formed 
the north and south poles, or frigid zones. 
And that the waters, in passing through, 
were warmed by the internal fires of the 
earth, in such a manner as to prevent ex- 
treme coldness of the climate in the north- 



THE KINGDOM. 



53 



ern or southern parts of earth. While the 
elevation of the central ridge, or range of 
mountains of the earth, were arranged un- 
der the meridian in such a manner as to 
throw off the rays of the sun in a forked 
direction; instead of condensing them ; and 
thus, the heat of the sun was equalized in 
every part of the earth, so that there were 
no torrid nor frigid zones. In this manner 
the rays of the sun, falling obliquely upon 
the gradually sloping plains, each way from 
the equator, and mingling with the refresh- 
ing mists of the waters of the north and 
south seas, would render every part of the 
earth a suitable habitation for man and 
beasts. 

But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered 
the whole face of the ground. — Gen. ii, 6. 

It is evident that very great changes have 
been produced in the physical condition of 
the natural world. Of the causes of some 
of these, we have accounts in the scriptures. 

And a river went out of Eden to water the garden- 
and from thence it was parted, and became into four 
heads. — Gen. ii, 10. 

First : The ground was cursed for man's 
sake, 

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearken- 
ed unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree 
of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not 
eat of it : cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in sorrow 
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life ; 

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee ; 
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field : 



54 



THE TERRITORY OF 



In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou 
return unto the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : 
for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. — 
Gen. iii, 17, 18, 19. 

Second: The earth was broken to frag- 
ments by the flood. 

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second 
month, the seventeenth dav of the month, the same day 
were all the fountains of tiie great deep broken up, and 
the windows of heaven were opened. — Gen. vii, 11. 

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word 
of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing 
out of the water and in the water : 

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed 
with water, perished. — 2 Peter iii, 5, 6. 

Third : Earthquakes have produced great 
changes. 

And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and 
famines, and pestilences: and fearful sights, and great 
signs shall there be from heaven. — Luke xxi, 11. 

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of 
Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of 
Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the 
son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earth- 
quake. — Amos i, 1. 

Fourth: The earth has waxed old by 
wearing away; by its convulsions, and the 
warring of the elements. 

Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth : and 
the heavens are the work of thy hands. — Psa. cii, 25, 26. 

They shall perish ; but thou remainest : and they all 
shaU wax old as doth a garment. — Heb. i, 11. 

From these, and other accounts, which we 
have in the geographical history of the 
earth, we may reasonably conclude that the 
earth does not exist in the form in which it 



THE KINGDOM. 



55 



was first formed. Where is the place to be 
found, in geography, where four rivers are 
known to go out from one, like that spoken 
of in Eden ? The Prophet saw it in vision; 
but that is to be in the new earth. 

And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall 
go out from Jerusalem ; half of them toward the former 
sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer 
■and in winter shall it be. — Zech. xiv, 8. 

The garden of Eden is now probably be- 
neath the place called Zion, or Jerusalem. 
And when Mount Olivet shall cleave asun- 
der, and remove, in the great plain that 
shall then appear, lost Eden may be found. 

And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount 
of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the cast, and 
the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof 
toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be 
a very great valley ; and half of the mountain shall re- 
move toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 

And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains ; for 
the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal : yea, 
ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake 
in the days of Uzziah king of Judah : and the Lord my 
God shall come, and ail the saints with thee. — Zech. 
xiv, 4, 5. 

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make 
all things new. And he said unto me, Write : for these 
words are true and faithful. — Rev. xxi, 5. 

From these circumstances, we may ex- 
pect, that when the new heaven and earth 
are created, and the Lord shall make all 
things new, the earth will again appear in 
its native Eden state of glory and beauty; 
spontaneously producing its variegated trees. 



56 



THE TERRITORY OF 



bearing fruit, and herbs bearing seed for 
food for man and beasts. 

For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I 
will make, shall remain before me, saith the Lord, so- 
shall your seed and your name remain. — Isa. lxvi,22. 

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for 
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right- 
eousness. — 2 Peter iii, 13. 

It was probably, by the agency of the in- 
ternal fires, that the earthy which was with- 
out form and void, was made to appear in 
its Eden state. And, afterwards by the 
absence of the same agency, it was over- 
flowed with w r ater in the flood. Since that, 
for the want of a proper equilibrium of cal- 
okic, all the noxious mists, and poisonous 
miasma of the earth exist: and also the ice 
and snow of the frigid, and the burning 
sands and Simooms of the torrid zones. 

But when by the agency of that fire, to 
which the earth is now reserved, the eternal 
mountains of ice shall be broken up, and 
hailstones the weight of a talent shall fly 
from the frozen regions, and neutralize the 
scorching climate under the equator, and 
caloric by its fructifying influence, shall 
cleanse every part of our blood-stained, sin- 
cursed, polluted earth ; then the earth will 
be established that it cannot be moved. 

And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the 
earth which he hath established for ever. — Psa. lxviii, 
59 

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the 



THE KINGDOM. 



57 



glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. — Hab. 
ii, 14. 

Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow ? or 
hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, 

Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, 
against the day of battle and war ? — Job xxxviii, 22, 23, 

Some have supposed that the earth will 
be burned up, and annihilated by fire, in the 
conflagration of the last day. But instead 
of being thus destroyed, it is to be made 
new, and established, and filled with the 
glory of God. 

Abraham had the promise of being heir 
of the world, through the righteousness of 
faith. 

For the promise that he should be the heir of the 
world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the 
law, but through the righteousness of faith. — Romans 
iv, 13. 

We learn what w r as embraced in Abram's 
faith, in Heb. xi, 9, 10, 16. 

$y faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in 
a strange country ^ dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac 
and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise : 

For he looked for a city which hath foundations, 
whose builder and maker is God. 

But now they desire a better country , that is, an heav- 
enly : wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their 
God : for he hath prepared for them a city. 

This is the country which is to be the ter- 
ritory of God's kingdom, which his people 
shall inherit, and dwell on, and reign with 
Christ one thousand years. 

Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. 
Matt, v, 5. 

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy 



58 



THE TERRITORY OF 



to take the book, and to open the seals thereof', for thou 
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood 
out of every kindred, and tongue, aud people, and na- 
tion ; 

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests : 
and we shall reign on the earth . 

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judg- 
ment was given unto them : and Isamihe souls of them 
that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for 
the word of God, and which had not worshipped the 
beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark 
upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and they lived 
and reigned with Christ a thousand years.— Rev. v, 9, 
10 ; xx, 4. 

Having noticed the scriptural geography 
of the earth, that was, and of that which is 
now, and also of that which is to be here- 
after, I pass to take a prospective view of 
that city, which Abraham and Isaac had 
looked for, and which God hath prepared 
for them ; called the city of the living God,, 
the new Jerusalem. 

This city is now above ; but it will come 
down from God out of heaven, prepared as 
a bride adorned for her husband. 

But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the 
mother of us alL — Gal. iv, 26. 

And I John saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem # 
coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a 
bride adorned for her husband. — Rev. xxi, 2. 

John saw the measure of this city, and he 
gives its dimensions as follows. 

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as 
large as the breadth : and he measured the city with the 
reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length, and the 
breadth, and the height of it are equal. 

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and 



THE KINGDOM. 



59 



forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, 
that is, of the angel. — Rev. xxi, 16, 17. 

The length, breadth, and height of this 
city, being equal, the measurement is cubic 
instead of square measure. And when we 
consider that immortal saints will be capa- 
ble of inhabiting the height, or centre, as 
well as the base of this city, we can hardly 
enumerate the multitude that might inhabit 
mansions there. 

In my Father's house are many mansions : if it were 
not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place 
for you. — John xiv, 2. u 

Allowing each a mansion of five hundred 
cubic feet, and leaving room for the streets, 
w r e find it to amount to the number of 
40,944,480,000,000,000 ; that is, forty quad- 
rillions, nine hundred and forty-four trillions, 
four hundred and eighty billions. Well 
might John call it a great multitude that 
man could not number ! 

After this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which 
no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and 
people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before 
the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their 
hands ; 

And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our 
God which sjtteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 
—Rev. vii, 9,10. 

Some are disposed to object to making 
calculations on this measurement, because 
it is the measuring of an angel. But John 
gives us to understand that the measure of 
the angel is the same as the measure of a 



60 



THE TERRITORY OF 



man. Consequently, though we cannot be 
confident how much space will be allotted 
to each saint, yet we may be sure that there 
is space in that city for as many as shall be 
redeemed ; for figures do not lie. 

With regard to the materials composing 
the several foundations, streets, and walls 
of that city, there is nothing incredible in 
considering them literally. For if God has 
created such materials, and mixed them 
with the gross elements of this world, it re- 
quires no great stretch of credulity to be- 
lieve that those precious gems and jewels 
will compose the city of the living God, the 
new Jerusalem. 

And the building of the wall of it was of Jasper : ancj 
the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 

And the foundations of the wall of the city were gar- 
nished with all manner of precious stones. The lirst 
foundation was jasper ; the second, sapphire ; the third, 
a chalcedony ; the fourth, an emerald ; 

The fifth, sardonyx ; the sixth, sardius ; the seventh, 
chrysolite ; the eighth, beryl ; the ninth, a topaz ; the 
t enth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth ; the 
twelfth, an amethist. 

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls ; every seve- 
ral gate was of one pearl ; and the street of the city was 
pure gold, as it were transparent glass.-?- Rev. xxi, 
18-21. 

This glorious and magnificent city is to 
be the future residence of God's people, who 
are redeemed from the earth. And after 
the thousand years of Christ's reign in the 
new earth are finished, they will enter 
through the gates into that city, and have 



THE KINGDOM, 



01 



right to the Tree of Life, of which Adam 
was deprived. 

And the nations of them which are saved shall walk 
in the light of it : and the kings of the earth do bring 
their glory and honor into it. 

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that 
they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in 
through the gates into the city. — Rev. xxi, 24 ; xxii, 14. 

And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become 
as one of us, to know good and evil : and now, lest he 
put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and 
eat, and live for ever : 

Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the gar- 
den of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was 
taken.— Gen. iii, 22, 23. 

" O'er the gloomy hills of darkness. 
Look, my soul, be still and gaze ; 
All the promises do travail, 
With a glorious day of grace 
Blessed jubilee, 
Let thy glorious morning dawn. 

Let the Indian , let the negro, 

Let the rude barbarian see-, 
That divine and glorious conquest, 

Once obtain'd on Calvary; 
Let the Gospel 
Loud resound from pole to pole. 

Kingdoms wide that sit in darkness, 
Grant them, Lord, the glorious light, 

And from eastern coasts to western, 
May the morning chase the night ; 
And redemption 

Fill the world with joy and praise. 

May the glorious day approaching, 

From Egyptian darkness down, 
And the everlasting gospel, 

Spread abroad thy holy name. 
All the borders 
Of the great ImmanuePs land. 



6^ 



THE LAW OJ: 



Come again, thou mighty Savior, 
Win and conquer, never cease, 

May thy lasting, wide dominions, 
Multiply and still increase ; 
Sway thy sceptre, 

Savior, all the world around. 



SECTION V. 

THE LAW OF THE KINGDOM. 

Text: Isaiah ii, 3, " Out of Zion shall go 
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from 
Jerusalem." 

Having considered the King, the Sub- 
jects, and the Territory, I now come to the 
examination of the Law of the Kingdom. 

In the text, the law and the word of the 
Lord are represented in conjunction; by 
which we infer, that as law is the transcript 
of the will of a Euler, and the word of the 
Lord an expression of his will, so the per- 
fect law of the Kingdom is contained in his 
word. Hence, under every dispensation, 
the uniform and perpetual requisition, stip- 
ulated as the general rule for man, has been 
expressed in these few significant words, 
viz: " If ye will obey my voice." 

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and 



THE KINGDOM. 



&eep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure 
unto me above all people : for all the earth is mine : 

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and 
an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt 
speak unto the children of Israel, — Exodus xix, 5, 6. 

Whether God's voice was heard by an 
audible sound from heaven, or by the dis- 
position of angels, or by Moses, or by the 
Holy Prophets, or by John the Baptist, or 
by Jesus Christ and his Apostles, it is the 
Word of God, and contains his law, and is 
to be considered equally obligatory on man, 
under every dispensation. 

The law and the prophets were until John : since that 
time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man 
• presseth into it. — Lukexvi, 16. 

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners 
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 

Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, 
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom 
also he made the words. 

For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and 
every transgression and disobedience received a just 
recompense of reward ; 

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; 
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and 
was confirmed unto us by them that heard him. — Heb. 
i, 2 ; ii, % 3. 

In the garden of Eden God spoke person- 
ally to man ; but after man transgressed he 
was terrified at the voice of the Lord. 

And the Lord God commanded man, saying, Of every 
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat : 

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 
t'hou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou eat 
thereof thou shalt surely die. — Gen. ii, 16, 17. 

And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in 
the garden in the cool of the day : and Adam and his 



64 



THE LAW Of 



wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God 
amongst the trees of the garden. — Gen. iii, 8. 

After this, though God spake to the Pat- 
riarch's and the House of Israel, audibly, 
and his presence was with Moses ; yet he 
sent the angel of his presence (which was 
evidently Christ), to save them and to bear 
and carry them all the days of old. 

And God said unto Noah, The end of ail flesh is come 
before me ; for the earth is filled with violence through 
them ; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth. 

Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of 
thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy fa- 
ther's house, unto a land that I will shew thee — Gen. 
vi, 13 ; xii, 1. 

I And God spake all these words, saying. 

And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man 
speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into 
the camp; but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a 
young man departed not out of the tabernacle. 

And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I 
will give thee rest, — Exod. xx, 1; xxxiii, 11, 14. 

In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel 
of his presence saved them : in his love and in his pity 
he redeemed them ; and he bare them, and carried them 
all the days of old. — Isaiah lxiii, 9. 

Moses, the Judges, and the Prophets, 
were divinely inspired to speak God's word. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I "have made 
thee a god to Pharaoh : and Aaron thy brother shall be 
thy prophet. 

Thou shalt speak all that I command thee : and Aaron 
thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the 
children of Israel out of his land — Exod. vii, 1, 2. 

And I will come down and talk with thee there ; and 
I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will 
put it upon them : and they shall bear the burden of 
the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. 



THE KINGDOM. 



65 



And the Lord came down in a cloud, and spake unto 
him, and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave 
it unto the seventy elders : and it came to pass, that 
when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and 
did not cease. 

And he said, Hear now my words : If there be a 
prophet among you, / the Lord will make myself known 
unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a 
dream. 

My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all 
mine house. 

With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even appa- 
rently, and not in dark speeches ; and the similitude of 
the Lord shall he behold : wherefore then were ye not 
afraid to speak against my servant Moses % — Numb, xi, 
17, 25; xii, 6, 7, 8. 

The same divine inspiration was confer- 
red on John the Baptist. 

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Pre- 
pare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert 
a highway for our God. 

Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain 
and hill shall be made low : and the crooked shall be 
made straight, and the rough places plain : 

And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all 
the flesh shall see it together : for the mouth of the 
Lord hath spoken i£.^Isaiah xl, 3, 4, 5. 

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I 
commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the 
statutes and judgments. 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the 
coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.— 
Mai. iv, 4, 5. 

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of wo- 
men, there is not a greater prophet than John the Bap- 
tist : but he that is least in the kingdom of God, is 
greater than he. — Luke vii, 28. 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was 
John. 

The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the 
5 



66 



THE LAW OF 



Light, that all men through him might believe .-—John 
i, 6, 7. 

Christ was annointed to preach the 
Gospel. 

And there was delivered unto him the book of the 

Erophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, 
e found the place where it was written. 
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor ; he hath 
sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliver- 
ance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the 
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 
To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 
And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the 
minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that 
were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 

And he began to say unto them, This day is the 
scripture fulfilled in your ears. — Luke iv, 17 — 21. 

And so, also, were the Apostles commis- 
sioned, by divine authority, to teach all na- 
tions. 

And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, All 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 

Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holv Ghost ; 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alwav, 
even unto the end of the world. Amen. — Matt, xxviii, 
18, 19, 20. 

The testimony and the law were completed 
and finished among the Apostles ; and the 
oracles of God were delivered to the Jews : 
and consequently the testimony was bound 
up, and the law was sealed among the dis- 
ciples at Jerusalem ; and no one among the 
Gentiles has ever received oracles of God. 



THE KINGDOM. 



67 



Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my dis- 
ciples. 

And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them 
that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, 
and that mutter : should not a people seek unto their 
God ? for the living to the dead ? 

To the law and to the testimony : if they speak not 
according to this word, it is because there is no light in 
them. — Isaiah viii, 16, 19, 20. 

From this we may conclude that all who 
pretend to a new revelation, beginning with 
Mohammed, and including Ann Lee, Joan 
Southcoat, Jemima Wilkinson, Jacob Coch- 
ran, Joseph Smith, and Spiritual Kappers, 
are Impostors. 

But in the new eEarth, under the new 
Covenant, God will turn to the people a 
pure language (probably that which was 
spoken before the confusion of tongues), and 
put his laws into their mind, and write 
them in their hearts. 

For then will I turn to the people a pure language, 
that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to 
serve him with one consent. — Zeph. iii, 9. 

For this is the covenant that I will make with the 
house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord ; I will 

Eut my laws into their mind, and write them in their 
earts : and I will be to them a God, and they shall be 
to me a people. — Heb. viii, 10. 

At that time, which the prophet calls the 
time of the end, many will run to and fro, 
and knowledge shall be increased to such a 
degree, that all the heathen shall know the 
Lord, from the least to the greatest. 

But thou, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the 



68 



THE LAW OF 



book, even to the time of the end : many shall run to 
and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. — Daniel 
xii, 4. 

So will I make my holy name known in the midst of 
my people Israel ; and I will not let them pollute my 
holy name any more : and the heathen shall know that 
I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel- — Eze. xxxix, 7. 

This law is a perfect law of liberty. 

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul : 
the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the 
simple. 

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: 
the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the 
eyes. 

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever : the 
judgments of the Lord are true and righteous alto- 
gether. — Psalms xix, 7, 8, 9. 

But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and 
continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer,, but 
a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his 
deed. — James i, 25. 

Here, then, we come to the conclusion, 
that with such a law, revealed and mixed 
with faith in this world, and endowed with 
knowledge in that which is to come, the 
saints after having enjoyed the tuition of 
Christ one thousand years, will not need 
that any one should teach them. 

A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true taberna- 
cle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. — Heb.viii,2. 

Well might David exclaim : 

Great peace have they which love thy law : and no- 
thing shall offend them. — Psalms cxix, 165. 

The law revealed by Moses was weak 
through the flesh; although in its nature it 
was holy. And, consequently, Christ has 



THE KINGDOM. 



69 



become the end of it to them that believe 
(but not to them who do not believe). 

Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment 
holy, and just, and good. 

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, hath 
made me free from the law of sin and death. 

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the 
likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in 
the flesh : 

That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled 
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to 
every one that believeth. — Kom. vii, 12 ; viii, 2, 3, 4; 
x, 4. 

He that believeth on him, is not condemned : but he 
that believeth not, is condemned already, because he 
hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son 
of God. — John iii, 18. 

From these declarations we learn that the 
law is to be fulfilled in us. For not one jot 
or tittle of the law can fail. But by the law 
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus (by whom 
the believer is justified from all things, 
from which he could not be justified by the 
law of Moses), the righteousness of the law 
is fulfilled, in such as love God with all the 
heart, and their neighbor as themselves. 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy mind. 

This is the first and great commandment. 

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself. 

On these two commandments hang all the law and 
the prophets.— Matt, xxii, 37, 38, 39, 40. 

The law of Moses made no provision for 



70 



THE LAW OF 



the transgressor ; but the law of the spirit 
of life, in Christ, proffers pardoii to the pen- 
itent, and the holy Spirit to the believer, to 
help his infirmities. 

He that despised Moses' law, died without mercy un- 
der two or three witnesses. — Heb. x, 28. 

And that repentance and remission of sins should be 
preached in his name among all nations, beginning at 
Jerusalem. — Luke xxiv, 47. 

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities : for 
we know not what we should pray for as we ought : but 
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered. — Rom. viii, 26. 

Here then we find a perfect rule of right, 
which always has been, is now, and will 
ever be the law of the kingdom of God, in 
this world, and that which is to come. 

This law is the same in every age and 
dispensation ; and though the manner of its 
revelation, and its requisitions and prohi- 
bitions have varied, according to the condi- 
tion and circumstances of those who have 
received it, yet in essence it is the same ; 
and can be fulfilled by loving God with all 
the heart, and our neighbor as ourselves; 
for " on these two commandments hang all 
the law and the prophets." 

" Father, is not thy promise pledg'd 

To thine exalted Son, 
That thro' the nations of the earth, 

Thy word of life shall run ? 

e ' Ask, and I give the heathen lands 

For thine inheritance ; 
And to the world's remotest shores 

Thine empire shall advance." 



THE KINGDOM. 



71 



Hast thou not said, the blinded Jews 

Shall their Redeemer own ? 
While Gentiles to his standard crowd, 

And bow before his throne. 

O when shall Afric's sable sons 

Enjoy the heavenly word ; 
And vassals long enslaved become 

The freed- men of the Lord. 

When shall the untutored heathen tribes, 

A dark, bewilder'd race, 
Sit down at our ImmanuePs feet, 

And learn and feel his grace ! 

Haste, sov'reign mercy, and transform 

Their cruelty to love ; 
Soften the tiger to the lamb, 

The vulture to the dove. 

Smile, Lord, on each divine attempt 

To spread the gospel rays ; 
And build on sin's demolish'd throne, 

The temples of thy praise." 



SECTION VI. 

THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF THE KINGDOM. 

Text : Luke xvii, 20 : <c And when he 
was demanded of the Pharisees when the 
kingdom of God should come, he answered 
them and said, the kingdom of God cometh 
not with observation." 



n 



THE DIFFERENT PHASES 



Having described the elementary parts of 
the kingdom, we are brought to contemplate 
the different phases in which it is revealed 
in the scriptures, as an organized body. 

But before proceeding to describe the 
views I have of it, I will meet the objec- 
tion, which often arises from a misunder- 
standing of the meaning of the word Obser- 
vation, used in the text. It cannot be that 
Jesus meant to represent that the kingdom 
would come in an invisible manner; nor 
that its appearance would not be magnifi- 
cent and glorious, any more than he meant 
to tell the proud, ostentatious Pharisees, 
that the kingdom of God was in them. 
What then did he mean I Answer : If we 
turn to the words of Moses, concerning the 
circumstances of the coming of the king- 
dom of Israel, we shall learn that that king- 
dom came by observation. 

And it came to pass r at the end of the four hundred 
and thirty years, even the self-same day it came to pass, 
that all the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of 
Egypt- 
It is a night to be much observed unto the Lord, for 
"bringing them out from the land of Egypt : this is that 
night of the Lord to be observed of all the children of 
Israel in their generations. — Exod. xii, 41, 42. 

In the marginal reading, "a night of ob- 
servation" That is, when the tribes of Is- 
rael became an independent nation, they 
kept the ordinance of the Passover, called 
by them the ordinance of observation ; for 



OF THE KINGDOM, 



73 



it was to be observed annually by all the 
children of Israel, in their generations. 

And the same night in which Christ was 
betrayed, and the tw r elve Apostles become 
an incorporate or associated church, inde- 
pendent of the congregation of Israel. He 
instituted the ordinance of the Lord's Sup- 
per, to be observed in remembrance of him; 
and after his resurrection commanded them 
to teach the nations to observe all things 
whatsoever he had commanded them. 

For I have received of tlie Lord, that which also I de- 
livered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night 
in which he was betrayed, took bread : 

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and 
said, Take, eat ; this is my body, which is broken for 
you : this do in remembrance of me. 

After the same manner also he took the cup, when he 
had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in 
my blood", this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remem- 
brance of me. 

For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, 
ve do shew the Lord's death till he come. — 1 Cor. xi, 
23, 24, 25, 26. 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you : and lo, I am with you alway, 
even unto the end of the world. Amen. — Matt, xviii, 20. 

Here then we find that the kingdom of 
Israel came by observation ; and so did the 
Christian Church. But, when the kingdom 
of God comes, it will not be with the observ- 
ance of any typical ritual or external ordi- 
nance; neither will it be said, lo here or there, 
is the kingdom. But it willbesaid 5 Behold 



74 



THE DIFFERENT PHASES 



the Kingdom of God is within tod : or 
among you, as it reads in the margin. 

Neither shall they say, Lo here ! or, Lo there ! for be- 
hold, the kingdom of God is within yon. 

For as the lightning that lighteneth ont of the one 
part under heaven, shineth nnto the other part under 
heaven : so shall also the Son of man be in his day. — 
Luke xvii, 21, 24. 

Then, laying aside the mystical notion of 
the coming of an invisible, or base king- 
dom, I pass to espy by the telescope of 
God's word, the different phases of the king- 
dom, as exhibited in the dispensations of 
God to man. 

The first glimpse w T e have of the king- 
dom is in the reign of Melchizedek, who 
was a king of righteousness and peace; in 
Salem, and also priest of the most high 
God. This was in the patriarchal dispen- 
sation; when the Father or Patriarch of 
families offered sacrifices, and made inter- 
cessions for all that belonged to their house- 
hold. So also Melchizedek, in the days of 
Abraham, as the Father or Patriarch of the 
nation that descended from Noah, offered 
sacrifices and intercessions, and reigned in 
righteousness and peace. But it was not 
long before his kingdom was disturbed by 
the kings of the nations, and the wickedness 
of Sodom, and God called Abraham, who 
was to succeed Melchizedek, to go out from 
among them. 

And the king of Sodom went out to meet him (after 



Of THE KINGDOM. 



75 



his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of 
the kings that were with him), at the valley of Shaveh, 
which is the king's dale. 

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread 
and wine : and he was the priest of the most high 
God. 

And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of 
the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth : 

And blessed be the most high God, which hath deliv- 
ered thine enemies into thv hand. And he gave him 
tithes of all.— Gen. xiv, 17, 18, 19, 20. 

And said unto him, Get thee out of thy country, and 
from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall 
shew thee. — Acts vii, 3. 

The next discovery we have of the king- 
dom of God, was four hundred and thirty- 
years after this, when the marching tribes 
of Israel were assembled at Sinai, in the 
wilderness, to enter into covenant with God, 
and to receive his law. 

For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God : 
the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special peo- 
ple unto himself, above all people that are upon the face 
of the earth. — Deut. vii, 6. 

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and 
keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure 
unto me above all people : for all the earth is mine : 

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and 
an holy nation. — Exodus xix, 5, 6. 

On condition of obedience, this people 
had the promise of being a kingdom of 
priests unto God, and a holy nation. But 
they rebelled against the Lord, and rejected 
him from being their king ; and usurped the 
supreme power, and requested to have a 
king to reign over them, like the nations 
around them. 



76 



THE DIFFERENT PHASES 



Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves to- 
gether, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, 

And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy 
sons walk not in thy ways ; now make us a king to 
judge us like all the nations. 

And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the 
voice of the people in all that they say unto thee : for 
they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, 
that I should not reign over them.— 4 Sam. viii, 4, 5, 7. 

And God said the) 7 continued not in my 
covenant and I regarded them not. Con- 
sequently they were overturned and sub- 
verted, and the kingdom was taken from 
them, and given to another nation, bringing 
forth the fruits thereof. 

Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall 
be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth 
the fruits thereof. — Matt, xxi, 43. 

This brings to our perception another 
phase of the kingdom, as exhibited in the 
Church of Christ ; whom Peter addresses as 
God's elect: and describes them by the 
same characteristics which were promised 
to the house of Israel, on condition of their 
obedience to his voice, viz : A chosen gen- 
eration ; a royal priesthood ; a holy 
nation ; a peculiar people. The fruit re- 
quired of them was to show forth the praises 
of him, who called them out of darkness 
into his marvellous light. 

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 
an holy nation, a peculiar people ; that ye should shew 
forth the praises of him who hath called you out of 
darkness into his marvellous light. — 1 Pet, ii, 9. 

But in this church we do not find all the 



OE THE KINGDOM. 



77 



elements of the kingdom fully developed. 
For it is divided, and subdivided, and is 
represented by Peter as being composed of 
strangers scattered abroad. 

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers 
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, 
and Bithynia, 

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Fa- 
ther, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedi- 
ence and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ : Grace 
unto you, and peace, be multiplied. — 1 Pet. i, 1,2. 

And so long as their king is absent, and 
a great part of the members are in another 
world, the church cannot be perfect, and all 
the forms of government, devised by men, 
for its organization and concert of action, 
fail to unite those who give evidence of be- 
ing christians, in one associate body. 

God has established but one form of gov- 
ernment in his kingdom, and that is Theoc- 
racy, in which he reserves to himself the 
supreme authority to ordain the Head, and 
to set the gifts in the church ; as it pleaseth 
him. Consequently there is no warrant or 
example in the New Testament, for either 
episcopal or delegated power to be exercised 
out of the churches ecclesiastically, in re- 
ceiving or expelling members of the church 
of God. 

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him 
to be the head over all things to the church. — Eph. 
i, 22. 

And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, 
secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that mira- 



78 



THE DIFFERENT PHASES 



cles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diver- 
sities of tongues. — 1 Cor. xii, 2o. 

And not holding the Head, from which all the bodv 
by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, 
and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. — 
Col. ii, 19. 

I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, 
and how thou canst not bear them which are evil ; and 
thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and 
are not ; and hast found them liars. — Rev. ii, 2. 

From these, and many other passages of 
the holy scriptures, we infer, that whilst 
Christ is to be regarded as the head of the 
church, all its official gifts are chosen and 
called by him, and set in the church as it 
hath pleased God ; and that from him nour- 
ishment is ministered, to knit the church by 
joints and bands, in such a manner, as to 
increase with the increase of God. And 
that by virtue of this divine power, the 
churches have power to try and decide upon 
the pretensions, or professions of all its 
members, whether officially or privately ex- 
ercised in the church. But how different 
from this is the spirit and practices of Popes, 
Cardinals, Bishops, Councils, Conventions, 
Conferences, and Synods, and all ecclesias- 
tical bodies, organized without the limits of 
the church to govern themselves or the 
church! Through the agencies of such 
self-created monopolies, the church has 
been brought into affinity with the State, 
and under the corrupting influence of such 
an alliance, the life and spirit of godliness 



THE KINGDOM. 



79 



has been waning, and the spirit and fash- 
ions of the world are gaining the ascend- 
ancy. 

From the present aspects of the church, 
we see but faint shadows of the essential 
elements of the king Jom of God. Yet 
there are some, in almost all the different 
denominations and sects, who fear God and 
work righteousness, and such are accepted 
of God. These have the promise of being 
members of that church that Christ will 
present to himself, a glorious church, not 
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. 

That lie might sanctify and cleanse it with the wash- 
ing of water by the word. 

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, 
not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but 
that it should be holy and without bl emish , — Eph. 
v, 26, 27. r 

As those whom Peter describes as a cho- 
sen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy 
nation, and a peculiar people, were then in 
a scattered condition, so likewise the gen- 
uine members of the church have been like 
the materials of Solomon's Temple scattered 
among the forests and quarries, where they 
were hewed out, and prepared for the build- 
ing. And not until they shall be transport- 
ed into another world, like as the materials 
of the temple were floated and brought to- 
gether, without the sound of axe or ham- 
mer, will the church be completed as a hab- 
itation for God. 



80 THE DIFFERENT PHASES 



Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the 
temple of my God, and he shall go no more out : and I 
will write upon him the name of my God, and the name 
of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which 
cometh down out of heaven from mv God : and J will 
write upon him my new name. — Rev. lii, 12. 

Here then we are under the necessity of 
taking the telescope of prophecy, and exer- 
cising faith to discover the character and 
condition of the church, in that world where 
it will be gathered in one body or king- 
dom. 

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, 
according to his good pleasure, which he hath purposed 
in himself : 

That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he 
might gather together in one all things in Christ, both 
which are in heaven, and which are on earth ; even in 
him.— Eph. i, 9, 10. 

But before we farther advance in prospec- 
tively viewing the future prospects of the 
kingdom, it becomes us to take a retro- 
spective view of the past, and of the past 
condition and future prospects of that peo- 
ple, whom God chose because he loved 
them for the Father's sake. For if there 
are covenant blessings in store for them, 
though the fulness of the Gentiles may 
come in, yet the church will not be com- 
plete until the Head Stone shall be brought 
forth by those who have rejected it with 
shoutings, crying grace unto it. 

Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the 
scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the 
same is become the head of the comer : this is the 



OE THE KINGDOM, 



Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes ? — Matt 
xxi, 42. 

And he shall bring forth the headstone thereof vritk 
shoutings, crying, Grace, grace, unto it. — Zech. iv, 7. 

All hail the power of Jesus' name, 

Let angels prostrate fall ; 
Bring forth the royal diadem, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Crown him, ye martyrs of our God, 

Who from the altar call ; 
Extol the stem of Jesse's rod, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Ye chosen seed of Israel's race, 

A remnant weak and small, 
Hail him who saves you by his grace, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Ye Gentile sinners, ne'er forget 

The wormwood and the gall ; 
Go spread your trophies at his feet, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Babes, men, and sires, who know his lovCp 

Who feel your sin and thrall, 
Now join with all the hosts above, 

And crown him Lord of all. 

Let ev'ry kindred, ev'ry tribe, 

On this terrestrial ball, 
To him due majesty ascribe, 

And crown him Lord of all, 

O, that with yonder sacred throng, 

We at his feet may fall ; 
We '11 join the everlasting song, 

And crown him Lord of all," 



6 



82 



THE SUBVERSION OF 



SECTION VII. 

THE SUBVERSION OF THE KINGDOM OF 
ISRAEL 

Text : Ezekiel xxi, 27 : " I will overturn, 
overturn, overturn it : and it shall be no 
more, until he come whose right it is ; and 
I will give it him." 

In this text we have one of the most impor- 
tant prophecies that was ever uttered by man, 
in the name of the Lord. It contains a fearful 
threatening, and a cheering promise ; em- 
bracing the most important events in this 
world ; unfolding the order in which those 
events should transpire, during a vast space 
of time, comprising thousands of years. 

The first is a prediction of the overturn- 
ing and entire subversion of the kingdom 
of Israel, for a long and gloomy season of 
dispersion and desolation. The other is a 
prediction of the coming of Jesus Christ, to 
reign on the earth, as King of Kings and 
Lord of Loeds. 

I am aware that some expositors have ap- 
plied the overturnings and subversion, of 
the text, to the temporal monarchies of the 
world: represented by Nebuchadnezar's Im- 
age ; but this would gratify the Pope of 
JKome, in giving the right to the fourth 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 



83 



monarchy to reign, which was the Roman 
kingdom. 

But nothing can be more evident from the 
text, and its connections, than that this aw- 
ful denunciation was spoken against that 
kingdom, over which Zedekiah wickedly- 
reigned. For the message was introduced 
and addressed to him in the words follow- 
ing: 

And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day 
is come, when iniquity shall have an end, 

Thus saith the Lord God ; Remove the diadem, and 
take off the crown ; this shall not be the same : exalt 
him that is low, and abase him that is high. 

I will overturn, overturn, overturn it : and it shall be 
no more, until he come whose right it is ; and I will 
give it him. — Ezek. xxi, 25, 26, 27. 

This subject is much controverted, in the 
present day, by theologians, and conse- 
quently, presents itself as one of interest, 
and claims a scriptural illustration * And 
here I would suggest, that if we find these 
threatenings have been verified to Israel, 
then we need not apply them to others, nor 
doubt the performance of the promise, in 
the same literal and exact manner. For 
God's ways are equal. 

Although the house of Israel had the 
promise, conditionally, of being a kingdom 
of priests, yet this did not proffer to them 
sovereign power to be a kingdom of rulers. 
And hence they were charged with rebel- 
lion, in asking a king. 



34 



THE SUBVERSION OF 



But there was one redeeming principlp 
on which they were told they could still in- 
herit God's favor, and escape his judgments. 
This was expressed in the following words, 
viz : 

If ye will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his 
voice, and not rebel against the coimnandinent of the 
Lord, then shall both ye, and also the king that reign - 
eth over you, continue following the Lord vour God. 

But if ye will not obey the voice of the Lord, but re- 
bel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall 
the hand of the Lord be against you, as it teas against 
your fathers. 

But if ye shall still do wickedly, ye shall be consum- 
ed, both ye and your king.— 1 Sam. xii, 14, 15, 25. 

Under a monarchial government this con- 
dition could not be complied with, unless 
both the king and his subjects observed it. 
For if the king forsook the Lord, he would 
not reign in such a manner as to tolerate 
the people in serving him ; and if the peo- 
ple revolted from God's commandments, 
the king could not compel them to serve 
God in a manner acceptable. 

Saul was the first king in Israel, after 
they usurped independent sovereignty. But 
he did not obey the command of the Lord, 
and was with his house rejected from being 
kings. 

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight ia 
burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of 
the Lord ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and 
to hearken than the fat of rams. 

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stub- 
bornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, 85 



hast rejected the -word of the Lord, he hath also reject- 
ed thee from being king. — 1 Sam. xv, 22, 23. 

David succeeded Saul, and the Lord gave 
testimony concerning him, that he would do 
all his will. 

And when he had removed him, he raised up unto 
them David to be their king : to whom also he gave tes- 
timony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, 
a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my 
will. — Acts xiii, 22. 

As Israel had forfeited all claim to God's 
favor, both under the administration of the 
Judges, and the reign of Saul, it was ne- 
cessary that a covenant should be confirmed 
to David and his house. This covenant we 
have an account of in 2 Sam. vii, 11—17 : 

And as since the time that I commanded judges to be 
over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from 
all thine enemies. Also the Lord telleth thee that he 
will make thee an house. 

And when tlvy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep 
with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which 
shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish 
his kingdom. 

He shall build an house for my name, and I will stab- 
lish the throne of his kingdom forever. 

I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he 
commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the red of 
men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 

But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I 
took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 

And thine house and thy kingdom shall be establish- 
ed forever before thee : thy throne shall be established 
forever. 

According to all these words, and according to all 
this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. 



According to this covenant, the kingdom 



86 



THE SUBVERSION OF 



was to be established in his house forever ; 
and if his children that succeeded him in 
the kingdom, committed iniquity, he would 
chastise them with the rod of men, and with 
the stripes of the children of men ; but his 
mercy should never depart from David and 
his posterity as it did from Saul and his 
house. This threatened chastisement was 
realized, in measure, by Solomon, i*n the re- 
volt of the ten tribes, and by his successors, 
in the invasions and annoyances of their 
enemies. 

And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces : for 
thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold I will 
rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will 
give ten tribes to thee : 

(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David's 
sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have 
chosen out of all the tribes of Israel). — 1 Kings xi, 
31, 32. 

But despite all these chastisements, and 
all the means used in sending his prophets 
to reform them, they waxed worse and worse, 
until their day had come for their iniquity, 
as a kingdom, to have an end. And their 
doom was announced by the prophet in the 
words of the text. 

In illustrating the subject contained in 
the text, I shall first endeavor to describe 
the three different overturns of the kingdom 
of Israel. Second, its final subversion. 
And carry up the subject of the future pros- 
pects of the Jews, in connection with the 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 87 



future prospects of the Christian Church, to 
the coming and reign of Jesus Christ. 

The first stroke of God's judgments fell 
heavily upon the kingdom of Judah, in the 
eleventh year of Zedekiah, 588 years before 
Christ. 

So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of 
king Zedekiah. 

And burned the house of the Lord, and the king's 
house ; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the 
houses of the great men, burned he with fire. — Jer. lii, 
5, 13. 

Nebuchadnezzar was employed as the 
cruel instrument of this sore calamity to the 
Jews. 

He commenced, and prosecuted with 
much zeal and skill, a siege against them 
for one year and a half; and then took their 
eity, pillaged the sanctuary, destroyed the 
temple, and overturned the whole nation^ 
and carried the king to Babylon, and the 
people beyond Babylon, where they were 
held in captivity for the term of seventy 
years. Almost as long as the people of the 
United States have been an independent na- 
tion. Most of those who were carried away 
captive, perished by the cold streams of 
Babylon; and all but very few of those who 
returned had been born in captivity. How 
sweet to them must have been the liberty 
of going up to Jerusalem, and mingling in 
the praises of Zion ! 

But their national enjoyment was soon 



88 



THE SUBVERSION OP 



disturbed again. For although the kings 
of Media and Persia liberated them from 
captivity, and tolerated them in the enjoy- 
ment of their national freedom, and reli- 
gious privileges ; yet a wicked root arose in 
the kingdom of the Greeks, in the person 
of Antiochus Epiphanes, to persecute and 
overturn them again as a nation. 

This was the little horn that came out of 
©ne of the four horns, that reigned in the 
kingdom of the Greeks, after the first horn 
was broken: described by Daniel. 

And out of one of them, came forth a little horn, 
which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and 
toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 

And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven ; and 
it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the 
ground, and stamped upon them. 

Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the 
host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, 
and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 

And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice 
by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth 
to the ground ; and it practised, and prospered. — Dan. 
yiii, 9—12. 

The transactions of this little horn com- 
prised the length of the vision, as answered 
in Dan. viii, 13, 14. 

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint 
said unto that certain saint which spake, How long 
shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and 
the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctu- 
ary and the host to be trodden under foot ? 

And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three 
hundred days ; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 

Some have supposed this prophetic peri- 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL, 89 

od related to the end of the world ; and that 
by connecting it with the seventy weeks, 
which represents the time of the third or 
last overturn of the Jewish nation, and 
making both these periods to commence at 
the going forth of the decree of Cyrus, to 
restore and build Jerusalem, they had found 
the time of the end of the world. But, to 
be convinced of the incorrectness of this cal- 
culation, we only need to consider that the 
events of the vision were the transactions 
of the horn, that came out of one of the four 
horns, or kingdoms, into which Alexander's 
kingdom was divided, after he had conquer- 
ed the Medes and Persians. And we see 
that the transactions of the little horn, can- 
not be earned back and be made contempo- 
rary with the transactions of Cyrus, king of 
Persia, in making the decree, which was 
in the year 538, before Christ, and the tak- 
ing away of the daily sacrifice in 168$ al- 
most 400 years afterwards. 

But criticism, on this passage, shows that 
two thousand three hundred days, instead 
of being so many years, are only so many 
sacrifices, or evenings and mornings. Then 
as there were two sacrifices every day, eve- 
ning and morning, and as it takes an eve- 
ning and morning to make one day, so we 
conclude that the length of time in the 
vision is only one thousand one hundred 
and fifty literal days, about three years and 



90 



THE SUBVERSION OF 



a half; answering to the length of time 
which elapsed after the daily sacrifice was 
taken away by Antiochus, before it was 
restored by Judas Maccabeus, and his asso- 
ciates, who defeated Lysius, whom Antio- 
chus had left in charge of Jerusalem ; and 
drove the Grecian army out of the city; and 
cleansed the Temple, which was the Jew- 
ish Sanctuary; and restored the daily sac- 
rifices in Jerusalem. 

The 1290 days, and the 1 335 days, relate 
to the times that elapsed after Antiochus 
took away the daily sacrifice, to the time of 
his death, in 164 B. C; and the time of the 
festival held by the J ews on hearing of his 
decease. See 1 Mac. i, 29 — 39. and iii, 35, 
36, and iv ? 36—56. 

The third overturn was by the Romans, 
in the year 70, of the Christian era. The 
Roman dispersion was very evidently the 
third overturn of the kingdom of Judah ; 
from the fact, that since that it has been no 
more. And agreeable to the prophecy of 
Hosea, the children of Israel have remained 
without any government of their own, or 
any' sacrificial mode of worship. 

For the children of Israel shall abide many days with- 
out a king, and without a prince, and without a sacri- 
fice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and 
without teraphim. — Hosea iii, 4. 

And that the second overturn was by An- 
tiochus, is equally evident, from the fact 



THE KINGDOM OP ISRAEL. 91 



that there has been no other instance of the 
conquest of the Jews, since the utterance of 
the text, except by the Chaldeans, the 
Greeks, and the Romans. 

The Roman kingdom -was undoubtedly 
the anonymous Beast, described in Daniel's 
vision, and represented by the legs and feet 
of the image, in Nebuchadnezzar's dream. 

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a 
fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceed- 
ingly : it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the 
residue with the feet of it : and it was diverse from all 
the beasts that were before it ; and it had ten horns. 

Thou, king, sawest, and behold a great image. 
This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood 
before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. 

The image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his 
arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. 
Daniel vii, 7; ii, 31, 32, 33. 

This same beast is represented under two 
different forms in the Apocalypse. The 
first had seven heads and ten horns, and 
seven crowns upon his heads. The other 
had seven heads and ten horns, and upon 
his horns ten crowns, instead of seven 
crowns upon his heads. This undoubted- 
ly was designed to show the difference be- 
tween Pagan and Papal Rome. One had 
seven different forms of government, and 
the other had ten kings or kingdoms, viz : 
The Huns, Goths, Ostragoths, Franks, Van- 
dals, Swedes, Saxons, Heruli, and the Bur- 
gundians; all under the same form of gov- 



THE SUBVERSION OF 



ernment; and yet controlled by the ecclesi- 
astical hierarchy of the f*apal superstition. 

It was under Pagan liome that our Lord 
Jesus Christ, was crucified, and the king- 
dom of Israel finally subverted. 

And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the 
transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce coun- 
tenance, aud understanding dark sentences, shall 
stand up. 

And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own 
power : and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall 
prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and 
the holy people. 

And through his policy also he shall cause craft to 

Erosper in his hand ; and he shall magnify himself in 
is heart, and by peace shall destroy many : he shall 
also stand up against the Prince of princes ; but he 
shall be broken without hand. — Daniel viii, 23, 24, 25. 

Of this awful catastrophe our Savior 
prophesied, as well as the holy prophets, 
and warned them and exhorted them to 
mourn for themselves and their children. 

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and 
wept over it. 

Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in 
this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace ! 
but now they are hid from thine eyes. 

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies 
shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, 
and keep thee in on every side, 

And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy 
children within thee : and they shall not leave in thee 
one stone upon another: because thou knowest not the 
time of thy visitation. 

But Jesus turning unto them, said, Daughters of Je- 
rusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and 
for your children. — Luke xix, 41 — 44 ; xxiii, 28. 

The cause of these calamities, sent upon 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL 



93 



the Jews, is very emphatically explained to 
them in' the message sent to them by the 
prophet Isaiah. 

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, 
but understand not ; and see ye indeed, but perceive 
not. 

Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears 
heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their 
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with 
their heart, and convert, and be healed. — Isa. vi, 9, 10. 

This annunciation so affected Isaiah, that 
he earnestly enquired, how long this would 
be their condition. The answer is given in 
verses 11, 12. 

Then said I, Lord, how long ? And he answered, 
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the 
houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate ; 

And the Lord have removed men far away, and there 
be a great forsaking in the midst of the land. 

But lest Isaiah should despair of their ever 
being restored, the Lord added this signifi- 
cant promise, verse 13 : 

But yet in it shall hea. tenth, and it shall return, and 
shall be eaten : as a teil-tree, and as an oak, whose sub- 
stance is in them, when they cast their leaves : so the 
holy seed shall be the substance thereof. 

That the Jews were in this morally be- 
wildered condition, when our Savior was 
here on the earth, is evident from Math, 
xiii, 13, 14. 

Therefore speak I to them in parables : because they 
seetng, see not ; and hearing, they hear not ; neither do 
they understand. 

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, 
which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not un- 



y4 



THE SUBVERSION Ofi 



derstand : and seeing ye shall see, and shall not per- 
ceive. 

And that thi3 continued to be their con- 
dition, when Paul preached to them at 
Rome, appears from Acts xxviii, 25, 26, 
27. 

And when they agreed not among themselves, they 
departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well 
spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our 

fathers, 

Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye 
shall hear, and shall not understand ; and seeing ye 
shall see, and not perceive. 

For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their 
ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they 
closed ; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear 
with their ears, and understand with their heart, and 
should converted, and I should heal them. 

And that this will continue to be their 
condition, till the times of the Gentiles come 
in, is proved by Luke xxi, 24. 

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and 
shall be led away captive into all nations : and Jerusa- 
lem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the 
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.— Luke xxi, 24. 

But notwithstanding all these discoura- 
ging accounts of their condition and pros- 
pects, the apostle Paul explains the mystery, 
and gives as to understand, that when the 
fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, all 
Israel, or the whole house of Israel shall be 
saved. 

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be igno- 
rant of this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your 
own conceits) that blindness in part has happened to 
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. 



THE KINGDOM Oh" ISRAEL. 



m 



And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, 
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall 
turn away ungodliness from Jacob : 

For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take 
away their sins. — Rom. xi, 25, 26, 27. 

Our Lord, while sitting on Mount Olivet, 
and speaking to his disciple concerning the 
destruction of Jerusalem, and his coming, 
and the end of the world, made this decla- 
ration concerning the Jews. 

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, 
till all these things be fulfilled. — Matt, xxiv, 34, 

That the generation here mentioned was 
the Jewish race, is evident from the circum- 
stances that he had just called them a gen- 
eration twice, in his farewell address to 
them, before leaving their city. And also, 
that he and his disciples w r ere conversing 
about them. With this understanding of 
this declaration, all the disputation and 
mysticism of those who have applied it to 
the generation of the righteous, and of those 
who argue that all things spoken of by 
Christ to his disciples, were fulfilled at the 
destruction of Jerusalem, at once disappear 
and vanish away. 

The w r ord, generation, is more frequently 
applied, in the scriptures, to the people of 
a family or race, than it is to the people of 
one age or period. The Jews were such a 
generation; claiming to be the children of 
Abraham, and they have not, nor will not, 
pass away, till all those things are fulfilled. 



96 



THE SUBVERSION OF 



In this respect they are a standing miracle 
to the world, confirming the truth of 
prophecy. 

All other nations, when subjugated, soon 
pass away. But the Jews have been over* 
turned three times, and dispersed and scat- 
tered among all nations, for near eighteen 
hundred years ; but they still retain their 
distinct national identity. And, according 
to the words of Christ, they will exist, and 
act, as a distinct nation, when Christ comes 
the second time. 

For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, 
tiU ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name 
of the Lord. — Matt, xxiii, 39. 

But although they maintain a national 
character among all nations, where they are 
scattered, yet their house is left unto them 
desolate ; and the sceptre has departed from 
Judah, and their history is briefly summed 
up in the few words which are a part of the 
text — " It shall be no moke." 

Were it not for the promises made to 
Abraham, and to David, and the predic- 
tions of the Holy Prophets, like that con- 
tained in the text, we might despair of their 
ever being brought to partake of the bles- 
sings of the gospel of Christ, which are so 
freely proffered to them as well as to the 
Gentiles. 

Having thus far traced the history of the 
kingdom of Israel, from its origin through 



THE KINGDOM OF ISRAEL. 9? 

its overturns and subversion, and shown 
the present state of the Jews, I pass from 
the melancholy story of their apostacy, and 
consider the provisions made for them in 
the gospel, as well as for the Gentiles. Af- 
ter which I will endeavor to illustrate the 
remaining part of the subject contained in 
the text, and show the right of J esus Christ 
to the kingdom, and the future prospects of 
the church, composed of Jews and Gentiles, 
under the universal reign of Jesus Christ 
on the earth. 



SECTION VIII. 

THE PROMISE TO THE JEWS AND GENTILES. 

Text: Acts ii, 39: "For the promise is 
unto you, and to your children, and to all 
that are afar off, even as many as the Lord 
our God shall call." 

At the opening of the Christian dispensa- 
tion, on the day of Pentecost, this text was 
uttered, as a key to unlock the mysteries of 
God. 

In this proclamation we find three classes 
of people designated, viz: 1. The Jews^ 
who composed the multitude to whom the 



apostle was speaking. 2. Their children, 
which comprises all the descendants of the 
Jews. And, ?>* The Gentiles, who were 
considered by the Jews, as being far from 
God. and strangers to the covenants of 
promise. 

That at ihat time ye were without Christ, being 
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and 
without God in the world. — Eph. ii, 12. 

The Jews have long been distinguished, 
in the dispensations of God, from all other 
people. And the apostle describes them by 
making mention of those circumstances by 
which they were distinguished. 

For whom ho did foreknow, he also did predestinate 
io be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might 
'be the first-born among many brethren. 

Moreover, whom he did predestinate, them he also 
called : and whom he called, them he also justified : and 
whom he justified, them he also glorified, — Rom. viii, 
99, 30. 

The Jews were foreknown of God, when 
he said to Abraham : 

(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many 
nations) before him whom he believed, even God, who 
quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be 
not, as though they were. — Rom. iv, 17. 

But, that it might be known which of the 
nations, that descended from Abraham, 
were to be reckoned as the seed of Abra- 
ham, the apostle proceeds to distinguish 
them. 

Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, art 



THE JEWS AND GENTILES. 



99 



they all children : but, in Isaac shall thy seed be called. 
— Rom. ix, 7. 

And then goes on to show that Jacob was 
preferred to Esau, as the one in whom the 
seed should be reckoned. 

It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the 
younger. 

As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 
hated.— Rom. ix, 12, 13. 

This was not spoken to Rebecca concern- 
ing Esau and Jacob as individuals, but con- 
cerning the nations that should descend 
from them. Nor was Jacob loved or elect- 
ed to eternal life, before he was born, or 
Esau reprobated before he had done good or 
evil, as some suppose, but it was spoken 
concerning their posterities, the Israelites 
and the Edomites, hundreds of years after 
those two men were both dead. 

And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy 
womb, and two manner of people shall be separated 
from thy bowels : and the one people shall be stronger 
than the other people ; and the elder shall serve the 
younger. — Gen. xxv, 23. 

I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Where- 
in hast thou loved us ? Was not Esau J acob's brother? 
saith the Lord : yet I loved Jacob, 

And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his 
heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. — Mai. 
h % 3. 

But, to be fully satisfied that the Jews 
were the people whom God foreknew, and 
predestinated, we only need to read Rom. 
ix, 4; and xi, 2. 



100 



TUK PROMISE To 



Who are Israelites : to ^ hom pertaineth the adoption, 
and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the 
law, and the service of God, and the promises. 

God hath not cast away his people which he fore- 
knew. Wor ye not what the scripture saith of Elias ? 
how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, say- 
ing. 

Here we find, then, that the Jews were 
predestinated, or preappointed, to be con- 
formed to the image of his Son, which was 
the former dispensation of the law of Moses, 
that Christ might be the first-born among 
many brethren, who had been adopted, by 
virtue of the covenant made with them at 
Sinai. That he called them out of Egypt, 
through the Red Sea, and the wilderness, 
into the land of promise ; that he justified 
them in taking possession of the land of 
Canaan, because he had given Abraham the 
promise of it, and they were the legal heirs 
of that promise ; while the Canaanites were 
only squatters in it, without any title to it. 
And that he glorified them with his pres- 
ence in the burning bush, in the cloudy 
pillar, and in the tabernacle and temple. 
And also, with the birth of his Son among 
them ; whom Simeon declared to be a light 
to the Gentiles, and the glory of Israel. 

And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a 
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush ; and he looked, 
and behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush 
was not consumed. 

And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole 
congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked 



THE JEWS AND GENTILES. 101 



toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the 
Lord appeared in the cloud. — Exod. iii, 2 ; xvi, 10. 

And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the 
cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the 
testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle 
as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. — 
2sTum. ix, 15. 

And it came to pass, when the priests were come out 
of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the 
Lord. — 1 Kings viii, 10. 

Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peo- 
ple ; 

A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy 
people Israel. 

And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things 
which were spoken of him. — Luke ii, 31, 32, 33. 

The posterity of the Jews are now dis- 
persed, and many of them very much op- 
pressed and degraded ; but in every age 
some have been converted to Christianity; 
and although blindness, in part, still rests, 
as a spell upon many of them, yet those 
who have believed in Christ, have found 
the words of the text to be true. And from 
many of the predictions of the prophets and 
apostles, we may expect there will be many 
of them converted, and hail Christ as king, 
when he comes in the name of the Lord. 

And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, 
and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, 
even every one that is written among the living in Jeru- 
salem : 

When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of 
the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood, 
of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of 
judgment, and by the spirit of burning. 

And the Lord will create upon every dwelling-place 



102 



THE PROMISE TO 



of mount Zion, and upon her asse mblies, a cloud and 
smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by 
night; for upon all the glorv shall be a defence. — Isaiah 
iv, 3, 4, 5. 

Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and 
seek the Lord their God, and David their king ; and 
shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days. 
— Hosea iii, 5. 

Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee : 
and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that 
was driven out ; and I will get them praise and fame 
in every land where they have been put to shame 

And that time will I bring you again, even in the 
time that I gather you : for I will make you a name and 
a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn 
back your captivity before your eyes, saith the Lord. — 
Zeph. iii, 19, 20. " 

Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion : for lo, I come, 
and I will dwell in the nifdst of thee, saith the Lord. 

And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that 
day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the 
midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of 
hosts hath sent me unto thee. 

And the Lord shall inherit Judah his portion in the 
holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. 

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace ana of 
supplications : and they shall look upon me whom they 
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one 
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for 
him, as one that is in bitterness for his first-born. — Zech. 
ii, 10,11,12; xii, 10. 

Well might the apostle conclude, then, 
that so all Israel shall be saved, and ex- 
claim : 

the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are his judg- 
ments, and his ways past finding out ! — Rom. xi, 33. 

The Gentiles comprise every nation except 
the Jews. And while we may be confident 



THE JEWS AND GENTSES. 103 

that the promises made to Abraham and 
David pertained to the Israelites, we can 
have equally as much assurance, that the 
Gentiles may trust in the root of Jesse, and 
find his rest glorious, and become fellow 
heirs with the Jews of the promise in 
Christ, 

And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which 
shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to it shall the 
Gentiles seek : and his rest shall be glorious. 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord 
shall set his hand again the second time to recover the 
remnant of his people, which shall be left from Assyria, 
and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and 
from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and 
from the islands of the sea. 

And he shall set up an ensign for the nations and 
shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together 
the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the 
earth.-— Isa. xi, 10, 11, 12. • 

That the Gentiles should be fellew -heirs, and of the 
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by 
the gospel. — Eph. iii, 6. 

Well might Peter perceive, as Paul con- 
cluded, that God is no respecter of persons ; 
but is the God of the Gentiles, as well as 
of the Jews. 

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I 
perceive that God is no respecter of persons : 

But in every nation, he that feareth him and worketh 
righteousness, is accepted with him. — Acts x, 34, 35. 

Is he the God of the Jews only ? is he not also of the 
Gentiles ? Yes, of the Gentiles also : 

Seeing it is one God which shall justify the circum- 
cision bv faith, and uncircumcision through faith. — » 
Bom. iii, 29, 30. 

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, 
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or 



104 



THE PROMISE TO 



free ; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit 
—1 Cor. xii, 13. 

But some one is ready to ask, if salvation 
is equally free for the Jew and Gentile, why 
do not the Jews embrace it and believe ? 
The same query might be urged concerning 
the .Pagan Gentile nations. And we an- 
swer that while gross darkness is upon the 
heathen, blindness in part has happened to 
Israel. And while we do not despair of the 
conversion of heathen nations, we ought 
not to despair of the conversion of the Jews. 
For God is able to graff them in again. 

And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall 
be graffed in : for God is able to graff them in again. — - 
Rom. xi, 23. 

Peter gave the Jews at Jerusalem to un- 
derstand that if they repented, they would 
be converted, and have their sins blotted 
out. And Christ was sent, the first time, to 
bless them, in turning them from their in- 
iquities. And when he comes the second 
time, he will come out of Zion, and turn 
away ungodliness from Jacob. 

Repent ye therefore^ and be converted, that your sins 
may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall 
come from the presence of the Lord. 

Unto you first* God having raised up his Son Jesus, 
sent him to bless you,, in turning away every one of you 
from his iniquities. — Acts iii, 19, 26. 

And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written, 
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall, 
turn away ungodliness from Jacob. — Rom. xi, 26. 

Having shown that the promise is to Jews 



THJG JEWS AND GENTILES. 



105 



and Gentiles, I pass to consider the nature 
of the promise referred to in the text. 

The apostle, in explaining the nature of 
the promise given to Abraham and Ins seed, 
says : 

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify 
the heathen, through faith, preached before' the gospel 
unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be 
blessed. 

That the blessing of Abraham might come on the 
Gentiles through Jesus Christ ; that we might receive 
the promise of the Spirit through faith. — Gal. iii, 8, 14. 

The blessing promised to Abraham and 
his seed, was the promise of the Spirit Paul 
says the seed was Christ, verse 16, Now 
as Christ received the promise of the Holy 
Ghost, so he promised it to his disciples, 
and agreeable to the prophecy of Joel, it 
was poured out upon all flesh. 

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted* 
and having received of the Father the promise of the 
Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see 
and hear. — Acts ii, 33. 

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghast, whom 
the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all 
things, and bring all things to your remembrance, what- 
soever I have said unto you. — John siv, 26. 

And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour 
out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your sons and your 
daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream 
dreams, your young men shall see visions. — Joel ii, 28. 

This Spirit, Christ said, would reprove the 
world of sin of righteousness and judgment. 
And Paul says : 

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, 
but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing 



106 



THE PROMISE TO 



of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost. — Titus 
Hi, 5. 

This, then, is the efficient agency by which 
the sinner is repiwed, and the soul con- 
verted, renewed and purified. 

Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the 
truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the 
brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart 
fervently : 

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of in- 
corruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and 
abideth for ever.— 1 Pet. L 22, 23. 

We come now to consider a question aris- 
ing from the doctrine of the text, which has 
been agitated and discussed by theologians, 
viz : If the promise of the gift of the Holy 
Ghost is the blessing proffered in the text, 
can men resist the Holy Spirit of God ? This 
was answered by Stephen, while his face 
shone like an angel. 

Ye stiff-necked, and un circumcised in heart and ears, 
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, 
so do ye. — Acts vii, 51 . 

If they could then resist it, they can now; 
hence the cautions and the solemn warning 
given by Christ and his apostles. 

Wherefore I say unto -you, All manner of sin and 
blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men : but the blas- 
phemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven 
iMito men. 

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of 
man, it shall be forgiven him : but whosoever speaketh 
against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, 
neither in this world, neither in the world to come. — 
Matt, xii, 32, 32. 

Bat he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost 



THE JEAVS AND GENTILES. 107 



hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal 
damnation. — Mark iii, 29. 

Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he 
he thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the 
Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, 
wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath 
done despite unto the Spirit of grace ? — Heb. x, 29. 

But here another question arises. If the 
promise of the gift of the Holy Ghost is to 
as many as are called, and all are called, 
then will not all receive the Spirit? An- 
swer: If the promise is conditional, it is 
not certain that they will. And there are 
conditions expressed immediately in con- 
nection with the text. 

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized 
every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the 
remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the 
Holy Ghost.— Acts ii, 38. 

The first is repentance. This consists, 
according to Christ-s teaching, in putting 
awa} r evil-doing, self-abasement, and prayer 
for mercy. He endorses the repentance of 
the people of Nineveh, to be genuine ; and, 
by turning to the book of Jonah, we can 
learn in what their repentance consisted. 

But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and 
cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one 
from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their 
hands — Jonah iii, 8. 

The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment 
with this generation, and shall condemn it : for they re* 
pented at the preaching of Jonas ; and behold, a greater 
than Jonas is here — Luke xi, 32. 



The other condition is baptism; not, as 



108 



THE TO 



some tMiik, to effect or accomplish the re- 
mission of sins, but to manifest or show to 
the world that they are dead to sin. John 
baptized with the baptism of repentance. 
But he did not baptize the people to make 
them repent, because he required them to 
bring forth fruits meet for repentance, be- 
fore he would baptize them. 

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. — 
Matt, iii, 8. 

Then said Paul> John verily baptized with the bap- 
tism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they 
should believe on him which should come after him, 
that is, on Christ Jesus. — Acts xix, 4. 

So likewise when penitent sinners confess 
and forsake sin, God forgives them, for 
Christ's sake ; and then they should be bap- 
tized to show that they are dead to sin, and 
risen through faith of the operation of God 
to walk in newness of life. Being planted 
together in the likeness of his death. 

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man 
that cometh into the world. — John i, 9. 

Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into 
death : that like as Christ was raised up from the dead 
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk 
in newness of life. — Rom. vi, 4. 

Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are 
risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, 
who hath raised him from the dead.— -Col. ii, 12. 

When a foreigner becomes a citizen of 
another kingdom, he must first forsake his 
own country, and emigrate to the country 
or territory of that kingdom, and profess in- 
tention to continue there, and then take the 



THE JEWS AND GENTILES. 109 



oath of allegiance, in order to become a nat- 
uralized citizen of the kingdom. 

So sinners must first be delivered from 
the power of darkness, and be translated 
into the kingdom of God's dear Son, and 
profess and confess Christ before men, and 
then be baptized to represent their change, 
or conversion to God. 

Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, 
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son, 
— Gol. i, 13. 

For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness; 
and with the* mouth, confession is made unto salvation. 
■ — Kom. x, 10. 

Thus the humble believer in Christ, puri- 
fies his soul, in obeying the truth through 
the Spirit. But if he cannot receive the 
Spirit until he is baptized with water, Ihen 
there can be no purifying efiect realized in 
being baptized for the remission of sins — 1 
Pet. i, 22. 

But when Peter preached to the people, 
at the house of Cornelius, he said : 

Can any man forbid water, that these should not be 
baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well 
as we ? — Acts x, 47. 

And before the apostles, and elders, and 
brethren, assembled at Jerusalem, he said : 

And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them wit- 
nesp, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto 

U£. 

And put no difference between us and them, purify - 
;*ig their hearts by faith.— Acts xv, 8, 9. 

These declarations bear ujually strong 

■ 



110 



THE PROMISE To 



against those who argue that water baptism 
is not necessary for those who have received 
the Spirit, and those who think it necessary 
in order to obtain the gift of the Holy Ghost 
or the remission of sins. 

The christian is guided into all truth by 
the Spirit. Not that the Spirit makes any 
new revelation, other than that which is re- 
vealed in the Bible. But while the spirit 
of adoption is sent into the heart, crying, 
Abba, Father, it bears witness with our 
spirits, that we are the children of God ; 
that is, that God is willing to be our Fa- 
ther and owns us as his children. 

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again 
to fear ; but ye bare received the Spirit of adoption, 
whereby we cry, Abba, Father. — Rom. viii, 15. 

This Paul calls the Spirit of Promise (the 
same as promised in the text), and says it is 
the earnest of our inheritance until the* re- 
demption of the purchased possession. 

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word 
of truth, the gospel of your salvation : in whom also, 
after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy 
Spirit of promise, 

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the re- 
demption of the purchased possession, unto the praise 
of his glory. — Eph. i, 13, 14. 

The children of God in this world are like 
minors under age, who are heirs to a rich 
inheritance, but cannot enter into possession 
and dispose of, or control it, while in their 
minority; but are under tutors and govern- 



THE JEWS AI?D GEiVriLEfcj. 



Ill 



ors, or guardians, until the time appointed 
by the Father, or the government. 

So christians in their minority, though 
they are heirs of God and joint heirs with 
Christ, to an inheritance that is incorrupti- 
ble, undeiiled, and that fadeth not away ; 
yet they cannot enter into possession of it, 
until the times and the seasons which the 
Father has put in his own power are ful- 
filled, and their bodies are redeemed from 
the bondage of corruption. 

But the heir can draw a revenue from the 
inheritance, sufficient to defray the expenses 
of his support and education. So, also, 
christians receive the Spirit of Promise, as 
an earnest of their inheritance, in the gift 
of the Holy Ghost, to support and comfort 
them and to guide them into all truth, and 
educate them for another and a better 
world. * 

Having thus shown that the promise is 
to both Jews and Gentiles, on condition of 
repentance and obedience to the gospel, and 
described the nature of the promise, and the 
blessed effects and influences of the Holy 
Spirit promised, I pass to consider some of 



* An Earnest was a portion of the stipulated sum, or 
contract, or covenant, advanced at the time of the con- 
tract, as a token that the parties "were in earnest in en- 
tering into the contract . This was like a seal to an in- 
strument that cannot be invalidated for the want of con- 
sideration. 



112 THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION 

those times which are set forth in the scrip- 
tures, called the times of the Gentiles. Af- 
ter which I will endeavor to illustrate the 
restitution of all things, spoken of by the 
prophets, and the Dispensation of the full- 
ness of times. 



SECTION IX. 

THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION OF ALL THINGS. 

Text: t; Acts iii, 21 : u Whom the heav- 
en must receive, until the times of restitu- 
tion of all things, which God hath spoken 
by the mouth of all his holy prophets since 
the world began." 

Two things which have been treated upon 
in a former part of this work, are confirmed 
by this text, viz : That Christ is now at the 
right hand of the Father, in the heaven of 
heavens ; and that God has spoken by the 
mouth of the Holy Prophets. But the sub- 
ject to which our attention is called, in the 
text, is the times of restitution of all things 
thus spoken. 

Restitution is the act of restoring that 
which has been wrongfully taken or usurped. 

If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, 



OF ALL THINGS. 



113 



and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another 
man's field : of the best of his own field, and of the 
best of his own vineyard shall he make restitution.— 
Ex. xxii, 5. 

And Zaccheus stood, and said unt o the Lord ; Behold, 
Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor ; and if I 
have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, 
1-restore him four-fold. — Luke xix, 8. 

According to this, the times of restitution 
are times in which that which has been 
wrongfully taken, or usurped, by the Gen- 
tile nations, shall be restored, called the 
times of the Gentiles. 

And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and 
shall be led away captive into all nations : and Jerusa- 
lem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the 
times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. — Luke xxi, 24. 

The times and the seasons which the Fa- 
ther has put in his own power, are not for 
us to know. , And yet Christ upbraided the 
Pharisees for not discerning the time in 
which they lived. By which we under- 
stand that though it is not for us to know 
the time when future events will be fulfilled; 
yet it is our duty to know the time in which 
the events predicted in God's word, are ac- 
complished ; and, like the skillful mariner, 
to keep the reckoning, lest, while sailing 
upon the high seas of time, we dash upon 
the rocks and bars of error and unbelief. 

And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the 
times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his 
own power. — Acts i, 7. 

Ye hypocrites, ve can discern the face of the skv, and 

8 



114 THE TIMES OF RESTITUTIO* 

of the earth ; but how is it, that ye do not discern this 
time ? — Luke xii, 56. 

Then judging it not only laudable, but a 
duty, we pass to enquire concerning the 
times of the Gentiles, and how the restitu- 
tion is to be accomplished, in those times. 

The powers of all human governments, 
exercised without regard to the higher law 
of God, are usurpations. But when nations 
or powers presume to rise in opposition to 
God, and to afflict or oppress his people, 
then they become usurpers and robbers. 
Yet God has suffered such wicked powers 
to exist, and to fulfill the threatenings of his 
word. But he has limited the times of their 
career; and in many instances, of which we 
have accounts, he has punished nations and 
overthrown such powers as rose in opposi- 
tion to him ; or presumed to afflict God's 
people in fulfilling his threatenings, because 
they did not do it with right motives. This 
was the case with Babylon, and with Greece, 
and it will be verified to Rome,, and all 
other powers combined against the people 
of God. 

It was by the Pagan pow r ers that the 
Jews were conquered and dispersed among 
the nations, where they now still continue 
to be oppressed. And by the Roman Papal 
power, the church has been subverted and 
scattered, as it now is. And by the Ma- 
hammedon Imposition, the Jews are de- 



OF ALL THINGS. 



115 



prived of the possession of the land of Pal- 
estine, and the church of free toleration of 
christian worship in Jerusalem. 

These powers are described by John, in 
Bev. chap, xii and xiii. The first he calls 
a great Bed Dragon. This name was ap- 
plied to the pagan monarchy of Egypt. — 
Isa. xxvii, 1; and li, 9; Ezek. xxix, 3. 

The Egyptians were the first pagan gov- 
ernment that oppressed God's people. And 
as this name was applied to them, on that 
account, so it is equally applicable to all 
pagan, or heathen governments, that pre- 
sume to oppose the government of God. 
This heathen power existed in Pagan Eome, 
at the time the church, represented as a wo- 
man clothed with the sun, appeared in 
heaven, and drew a third part of the stars 
of heaven (the ministers of the gospel), and 
and cast them to the earth. (Caused them 
to resort to the secular powers of earth for 
support), and stood before the woman to de- 
vour her child, as soon as it was born, and 
persecuted the woman and went to make 
war with the remnant of her seed. 

And there appeared another wonder in heaven ; and 
behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten 
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, 
and did cast them to the earth : and the dragon stood 
before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for 
to devour her child as soon as it was born . 

And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the 



lit) THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION 



earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth 
the man-child. 

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and 
went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which 
keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony 
of Jesus Christ. — Rev. xii, 3, 4, 13, 17. 

At the eve of the reign of paganism, in 
Rome, a part of the bishops and elders were 
involved in the controversy between Athe- 
nasius and Arius ; and had become so de- 
generated from the true spirit of Christianity, 
that they very readily embraced the oppor- 
tunity, at the Council of Nice, to unite 
Church and State, under the reign of Con- 
stantine. This was the birth of the man 
child, that was to rule all nations with a 
rod of iron. But Paganism, being cast out 
of power, persecuted the church, and under 
the reign of Julian, the apostate, went to 
make war with christians. Tins was the 
last effort, that we have any account of, in 
the scriptures, that pagan governments 
have attempted to destroy the church. But 
there is a prophecy in which we find the 
same dragon power will be combined with 
other antichristian powers, in making war 
with the people of God. 

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the 
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. — Rev. 
xvi, 13. 

The second power described by John, he 
calls a Beast, or as it is rendered in the 
original, a wild beast. This differed only 



* 



Of ALL THINGS. 



117 



in few things from the dragon. And as the 
dragon gave him his power, and his seat, 
and great authority, we conclude it must be 
Papal Eome, or the ecclesiastical hierarchy, 
that originated from the unhallowed -alli- 
ance, between Church and State, when the 
man-child had grown to the Man of Sin. 

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast 
rise up out of the sea, having-seven heads and ten horns, 
and upon his horns ten crown3, and upon his heads the 
name of blasphemy. 

And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, 
and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as 
the mouth of a lion and the dragon gave him his pow- 
er, and his seat, and great authority — Rev. xiii, 1, 2. 

Let no man deceive you by any means : for that day 
shall not come, except there come a falling away first, 
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition ; 

Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is 
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God, 
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is 
God.— 2 Thess. ii,3, 4. 

The universal supremacy of the bishop of 
Eome was established by the decree of Pho- 
cas, in the year 606 ; and Boniface, on whom 
the title was conferred, succeeded in the ex- 
ercise of the power of popery. 

It has been thought, by some, that the 
universal supremacy of the Pope was estab- 
lished by the decree of Justinian, in 538. 
It is true that Justinian made a decree to 
confer the title of Universal Bishop on 
John, the Faster, but as we have no ac- 
count that he was ever acknowledged as 
such, by the bishops of Constantinople or 



118 



THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION 



Rome, we may conclude, that as Rome was 
soon after this conquered, by Barbarians, 
and their city sacked, and their laws par- 
alyzed, that this decree became a nullity, 
and consequently we have no account of 
any one who officiated as a Universal Bish- 
op, or Pope, until the murderer, Phocas, 
conferred it upon Boniface, as a reward for 
his base hypocrisy, in justifying him in ob- 
taining the throne of the empire, by the as- 
sassination and murder of his master. 

The time of the reign of this Beastly 
power, is represented by Daniel, to be time, 
times, and the dividing of time. And by 
John, as forty and two months : twelve hun- 
dred and sixty days ; and as a time, times, 
and half a time. ✓ 

And he shall speak great words against the Most 
High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, 
and think to change times and laws : and they shall be 
given into his hand until a time and times and the di- 
viding of time. — Dan. vii, 25. 

But the court which is without the temple, leave out, 
and measure it not ; for it i s given unto the Gentiles : 
aud the holy city shall they tread under foot for forty 
and two months. 

And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and 
they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three- 
score days, clothed in sackcloth. 

And to the woman were given two wings of a great 
eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her 
place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and 
half a time, from the face of the serpent. — Rev. xi, 2, 3 ; 
xii, 14. 

As times in the seasons of Nebuchadnez- 
zar's abdication, meant years, and the sev- 



OF ALL THINlifc. 



119 



enty weeks which were determined upon 
the Jews, and upon their city, from the 
time of their return from captivity, to the 
time of their dispersion, and the destruction 
of their city, by the Romans, was evidently 
490 years, reckoning a year for a day, ac- 
cording to the rule given to Ezekiel, for the 
measuring of prophetic time. So we find 
that time, times, and half a time, are forty 
and two months. And reckoning 360 days 
to a year, and each day to be a year, we 
find the length of the reign of the Beast, to 
be 1260 years ; which, added to 606, carries 
us down "to 1866, as the period for the over- 
throw of Popery. 

And the beast was taken, and with him the false 

Erophet that wrought miracles before him, with which 
e deceived them that had received the mark of the 
oeast, and them that worshipped his image. These 
both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with 
brimstone. — Rev. xix, 20. 

The third power persecuting the people of 
God, described by John, he says was an- 
other Beast, having two horns like a lamb, 
that spoke like a dragon, and did great won- 
ders ; and exercised his power in making an 
image to the Beast, and in causing that all 
should receive the mark of this last Beast, 
in their hand or in their foreheads. 

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the 
earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake 
as a dragon. 

And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh the 



220 



THE TIMfiB RESTITUTION 



fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of 
men, 

And dcceiveth them that dwell on the earth by ike 
means of those miracles which he had power to do in 
the sight of the beast ; saying to them that dwell on the 
earth, that they should make an image to the beast, 
which had the wound by a sword, and did live. 

And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and 
poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right 
hand, or in their foreheads.—- Rev. xiii, 11, 13, 14, 16. 

This same Beast John calls the false 
prophet, from which we understand that this 
-wild beast was Mohammedanism. This 
agrees with the number of this beast, which 
is 666. 

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding 
count the number of the beast : for it is the number of a 
man • and his number is Six hundred threescore and 
six. 

And the beast was taken, and with him the false 
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which 
he deceived them that had received the mark of the 
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These 
both were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with 
brimstone. — Rev. xiii. 18 ; xix, 20. 

Slaliammed arose about the beginning of 
the seventh century, nearly at the establish- 
ment of Popery; but his power was not es- 
tablished, as a secular kingdom, until after 
his death, in the year 666. Here, then, we 
have the number of the origin of this Im- 
position ; and from the account of its being 
taken with the first Beast, and cast into the 
lake of fire, we may infer that it will be 
overthrown at the same time of the fall of 
Popery, 



OF ALL THINGS. 



121 



The spirits of Paganism, Popery, and 
Mahammedanism, have engendered all the 
wars that have afflicted the church. And, 
from the prediction of John, we may expect 
that these three great powers will be com- 
bined in the Battle of the Great Day of God 
Almighty. 

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of 
the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the 
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 

For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, 
which go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the 
whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great 
day of God Almighty. — Rev. xvi, 13, 14. 

This will probably be the last battle that 
will ever be fought on this earth ; in it the 
Beast will be taken, and with him the False 
Prophet, and cast into the lake of fire ; and 
the Dragon will be bound and cast into the 
bottomless pit, and shut up for a thousand 
years. 

And the beast was taken, and with him the false 

Erophet that wrought miracles before him, with which 
e deceived them that had received the mark of the 
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These 
both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with 
brimstone. 

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having 
the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his 
hand. 

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, 
which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thou- 
sand years. — Rev. xix, 20; xx, 1, 2. 

Here, then, we see that Paganism, Popery 
and Mahommedanism, which are now in 
alliance with each other, have already be- 



122 



THE TIMES ui RESTITUTION 



gun to gather the kings of the earth, and 
of the world, to the final issue. 

These three false systems of religious su- 
perstition have always been antipodes, and 
the nations marshalled under each have 
been contending with each other, until 
withi.n a few years past, when, to the as- 
tonishment of the world, they are found in 
alliance. And though Russia and America 
have not been gathered with them, not be- 
ing under the control of either of these false 
systems of religion, yet there are reasons 
to fear they will chime in, and meet the 
righteous retribution of heaven. 

According to prophecy, this battle will be 
<m the mountains of Israel, in the latter 
days or years, after Israel is gathered out of 
the nations, when the combined nations 
shall cover the land, and come to spoil and 
take a prey, and to carry off cattle and 
goods. 

And say, Thus saith the Lord God ; Behold, I am 
against thee, Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and 
Tubal : 

And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy 
jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, 
horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts 
cf armour, even a great company with bucklers and 
shields, all of them handling swords : 

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them ; all of them 
with shield and helmet : 

Gomer, and all his bands ; the house of Togarmah of 
the north quarters, and all his bands : and many people 
with thee. 

And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of un- 



UJb ALL THINGS. 



123 



walled villages ; I will go to them that are at rest, that 
dwell safely, and of them that dwell without walls, 
and having neither bars nor gates, 

To take a spoil, and to take a prey ; to turn thine 
hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, 
and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations 
which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the 
midst of the land. 

And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, 
Ml a cloud to cover the land ; it shall De in the latter 
days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the 
heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in 
thee, Gog, before their eyes. 

And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog 
shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord 
God, that mv furv shall come up in my face. 

And I will plead against him with pestilence and 
with blood ; and I will rain upon him, and upon his 
bands, and upon the many people that are with him, 
an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and 
brimstone.— Eze. xxxviii, 3/4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 16, 18, 22. 

It is further described in the prophecy of 
Joel : 

For behold, in those days, and in that time, when I 
shall bring again the captivity of J udah and Jerusa- 
lem, 

I will also gather all nations, and will bring them 
down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead 
with them there for my people and for my heritage Is- 
rael, whom they have scattered among the nations, and 
parted my land 

Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ; Prepare war, 
wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw 
near ; let them come up ; 

Beat your plough-shares into swords, and your pru- 
ning-hooks into spears : let the weak say, I am strong. 

Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and 
gather yourselves together round about : thither cause 
thy mighty ones to come down, Lord. 

Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the 



124 THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION 



valley of Jehoshaphat : for there will I sit to judge all 
tlie heathen round about. 

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe : come, get 
you down ; for the press is full, the fats overflow ; for 
their wickedness is great. 

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision : for 
the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision . 

The sim and the moon shall be darkened, and the 
stars shall withdraw their shining. 

The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his 
voice from Jerusalem ; and the heavens and the earth 
shall shake : but the Lord will be the hope of his peo- 
ple, and the strength of the children of Israel. 

So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwell- 
ing in Zion my holy mountain : then shall Jerusalem 
be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her 
any more. 

And it shall como to pass in that day, that the moun- 
tains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall 
flow with milk, and all the rivers of J udah shall flow 
with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the 
house of the Lord, and shall water the y alley of Shit- 
tim. 

Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a des- 
olate wilderness, for the violence against the children 
of J udah, because they have shed innocent blood in 
their land. 

But Judah shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from 
generation to generation. 

For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: 
for the Lord dwelleth in Zion. — Joel iii, 1, 2 ; 9 — 21. 

In those times the usurping powers will 
yield tip, and restore that which they have 
taken wrongfully. 

1. The whole house of Israel, or all the 
twelve tribes, will he restored. 

2. The land of Palestine will be given 
up, and the Jews will be settled in the land 
of their Fathers, after their old estates. 



OF ALL THINGS. 



125 



3. Ecclesiastical authority be surrender- 
ed by Popery and Episcopacy, and the an- 
cient order and gifts be restored to the 
church, and will be set in the church as is 
pleasing to God. 

4. Heathen darkness will vanish ; Pagan 
worship cease ; the pure worship of God 
universally tolerated, will prevail in all the 
world, among all nations. 

In that time Christ, whom the heaven 
has received, and will retain, until all 
things shall be restored, as has been pre- 
dicted by all the prophets, will be sent again 
into this world ; not to suffer and die ; but 
to live and reign a thousand years, in Mount 
Zion, and before his Ancients, gloriously. 

But it should be borne in mind that as cer- 
tain times or seasons have elapsed, in the 
changing of other dispensations, so also 
there may be different times or seasons in 
which the restitution of those things, taken 
away by usurpation, shall transpire. For in- 
stance, forty years transpired after the Patri- 
archal dispensation ceased, before Israel en- 
tered the land of promise, and seven years 
elapsed after the law and the prophets ceas- 
ed, before the opening and establishment of 
the Christian dispensation, on the day of 
Pentecost. So, likewise, the time of the 
gathering of the Jews in Palestine, and the 
restoration of that province may be before 
that combined army shall invade or besiege 



126 THE TIMES OF RESTITUTION 

them, and even the cleansing of the land 
may be after the battle is past; for seven 
months and seven years may elapse in the 
burning the implements of war, left in the 
land. Admitting all these times must 
elapse, it does not militate against this 
doctrine, nor the literal interpretation of 
the prophecies, but confirms them. 

Here then we rest the story of the con- 
flicts and woes of the generations of all ages 
of the world, and go on to learn the results 
of all the measures adopted and used for the 
establishment of the kingdom of God in the 
world, and the final transition of the king- 
dom, and the transmigration of its subjects 
to the city of the living God, and then close 
with appeal to believers and unbelievers, by 
way of reflection. 

"■"Wow far above the starry skies, 
Our Jesus fills his brighter throne, 

Invisible to mortal eyes, 

But not to humble faith unknown. 

The countless hosts that round him stand, 
The subjects of his glorious power, 

Fly thro' the world at his command, 
Or prostrate at his feet adore. 

Satan and all his rebel crew, 
Who rag'd to pull his kingdom down, 

Crush'd by his hand, in ruin now, 
Lie trembling at his awful frown. 

His name above all creatures great, 

He all sustains and all controls, 
Yet from his high exalted state, 

Look? kindlv down on humble souls. 



OF ALL THINGS, 



127 



Tho' in the glory he possess'd, 
Long ere this world or time began, 

He shines the Son of God confess'd, 
He owns himself the Son of man. 

Tho* once in agonies he died, 
Yet now in heav'n he lives ; 

Of joy there pours th' eternal tide, 
Here saves the sinner who believes. 

The Father with approving smile, 
Accepts the off 'ring of his Son ; 

New joy the wond'ring angels feel, 
And haste to bear the tidings down. 

The welcome news their lips repeat, 
Give sacred pleasure to my breast : 

Henceforth my soul, thy cause commit 
To Christ thy Advocate and Priest." 



SECTION X. 

THE DISPENSATION OF THE FULNESS OF 
TIMES. 

Text: Eph. i, 10: "That in the dispen- 
sation of the fulness of times, he might 
gather together in one, all things in Christ, 
both which are in heaven and on earth : 
even in him." 

There have been three dispensations sanc- 
tioned by divine authority, viz: That of the 
Patriarchs ; the Law of Mosqs; and that of 



128 



THE DISPENSATION OF 



the Gospel of Christ. And, that there will 
be another, is evident from the text, and 
many other declarations of Scripture. 

And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto jrou, 
That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, 
when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, 
ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve 
tribes of Israel. — Matt, xix, 28. 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, 
there ye may be also. — John xiv, 3. 

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for 
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right- 
eousness. — 2 Pet. iii, 13. 

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 
having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that 
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, 
and tongue, and people. — Rev. xiv, 6. 

That is called the dispensation of the ful- 
ness of times; which is the consummation 
or completion of all other dispensations. 
When Christ shall come, and sit on the 
throne of his glory, the apostles will sit 
upon thrones ; judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel. And martyrs and saints shall also 
judge the world. 

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and 
judgment was given unto them : and / saw the souls 
of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, 
and for the word of God, and which had not worship- 
ped the beast, neither his image, neither had received 
his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands ; and 
they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.— 
Rev. xx, 4. 

Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? 
and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye un- 
worthy to judge the smallest matters"? — 1 Cor. vi, 2. 



THE FULNESS OF TIMES. 



129 



In that dispensation, all things in Christ 
will be gathered together in one kingdom, 
both which are in heaven or in earth, that 
is, all that are in Christ. (But not those 
that are not in him.) These comprise the 
quick and the dead ; both their souls in 
heaven and their bodies in the earth ; will 
then be gathered ; even in him, and, un- 
der his righteous administration, enjoy that 
rest that remains for the people of God, 

There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. 

For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceas- 
ed from his own works, as God did Irorn his. — Heb. iv, 
9, 10. 

That dispensation is represented as a Sab- 
bath, or seventh day of rest. And in like 
manner, as God rested from his works of 
creation on the Sabbath or seventh day, 
which was the fulness of the six days that 
preceded it, so Christ and his saints will 
rest on the seventh thousand years, the Mil- 
lennial Sabbath, which is to be the fulness 
of all the six thousand years preceding ; 
in which other dispensations have been in 
progress. 

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that 
one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a 
thousand years as one day.-— 2 Pet. iii, 8. 

That will be a time of feasting, when the 
face of the covering, the gross ignorance 
and moral darkness cast over all people ; 
and the vail of death spread over all na- 
tions, shall be destroyed, and the victory 



130 



THE DISPENSATION OF 



shall consist in life, where tears will never 
flow, and the rebuke of persecution shall be 
taken away from off all the earth. 

And in this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make 
unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on 
the lees ; of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the 
lees well refined. 

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the 
covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread 
over all nations. 

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord 
God will wipe away tears from off all faces ; and the 
rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the 
earth : for the Lord hath spoken it. 

And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God ; 
we have waited for him, and he will save us : this is 
the Lord ; we have waited for him, we will be glad and 
rejoice in his salvation. — Isa. xxv, 6, 7, 9. 
" On Zion his most holy mount, 



Shall in the banquet share. 

Marrow and fatness are the food 
His bounteous hand bestows ; 

Wine on the lees and well refin'd 
In rich abundance flows. 

See to the vilest of the vile, 

A free acceptance given ; 
See rebels, by adopting grace. 

Sit with the heirs of heav'n. 

The pain'd, the sick, the dying now. 

To ease and health restored, 
With eager appetites partake 

The plenties of the board. 

But O what draughts of bliss unknown. 

What dainties shall be given, 
When with the myriads round the throne 

We join the feast of heav'n. 




THE FULNESS OF TIMES. 



131 



There joys immeasurably high, 

Shall overflow the soul, 
And springs of life that never dry, 

In thousand channels roll." 

It will be a time of universal peace, and 
wars shall cease in all the world. 

And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the 
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in 
the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 
hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. 

And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let 
us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of 
the God of Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in his paths : for out of Zion shall go 
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jeru- 
salem. 

And he shall judge among the nations, and shall re- 
buke many people : and they shall beat their swords 
into plough -shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: 
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither 
shall they learn war any more. — Isa. ii, 2, 3, 4. 

The mountain of the Lord's house shall 
be in the top of the mountains. The only- 
way we can account for such a location of 
the Lord's house, is, that in the new earth 
all the mountains will be connected in one 
unbroken range, under the equator, forming 
the highest part of the earth, and the Lord's 
house will be established on the Mountain 
of Zion, as king David's was in Jerusalem. 

Hear ye this, house of J acob, which are called by 
the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters 
of Judah, which swear by the name of the Lord, and 
make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor 
in righteousness. 

For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay 



132 



THE DISPENSATION OF 



themselves upon the God of Israel ; The Lord of hosts 

is his name. 

I have declared the former things from the beginning; 
and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed 
them ; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. — 
Isa. xlviii, 1, 2, 3. 

Christ will there teach by his law, reveal- 
ed by his word, sent forth to all the world, 
by his messengers ; and God's saints will all 
walk in his paths, for righteousness shall 
dwell there. 

Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for 
new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth right- 
eousness. — 2 Pet. iii, 13. 

Then Christ, who was represented in the 
parable as a certain nobleman, will return, 
having received the kingdom. 

And as they heard these things, he added and spake 
a parable, because he was nigh to Jerusalem, and be- 
cause they thought that the kingdom of God should 
immediately appear. 

He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far 
country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to re- 
turn. 

And he called his ten servants, and delivered them 
ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. 

But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after 
him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over 
us. — Luke xix, 11 — 14. 

It was customary, anciently, when king- 
doms were combined in universal empires, 
for noblemen who aspired to the throne of 
any kingdom or province, at the death of 
the king, or the abdication of the throne, to 
go up to the capital seat of the empire to 
receive the kingdom, And as there were 



THE FULNESS OF TIMES. 



133 



generally competitors for the crown, the 
noblemen would call together their friends 
and distribute their goods or money among 
them, to enlist suffrages. And when ar- 
riving at the seat of the empire, the suc- 
cessful candidate was seated at the right 
hand of the emperor, and the crown placed 
upon his head, and his name proclaimed as 
the king of such a territory or province. 
After receiving the kingdom, if it was 
known that any of the citizens hated him, 
and would not have him to reign over them, 
the new king appointed embassadors, and 
sent them through all the length and breadth 
of his territory, to proclaim his name as 
their king, to make known his laws, or the 
policy of his government, and to require of 
the people some action, in the observance 
of his commands, by which they should 
show their allegiance to their new sover- 
eign. And if it was found that there was 
a formidable opposition against his author- 
ity, an army, collected from other nations 
combined in the empire, escorted the new 
king to his throne, and supported his au- 
thority, while the king rewarded his friends 
and punished his enemies, that would not 
have him to reign over them. 

So also Christ, when he ascended upon 
high, gave gifts to men, and was seated at 
the right hand of the Emperor of worlds, 
and the crown placed upon his head, and 



134 



THE DISPENSATION 0.F 



his name proclaimed as the King of Glory. 
But there always has- been a large majority 
of the world opposed to his reign ; and ho 
also has appointed and sent his embassadors 
to go to and fro through the earth, to pro- 
claim his name as King of Kings, to make 
known his laws, or the order of his king- 
dom, and require the people to show their 
allegiance to him as their rightful sovereign, 
by some act of obedience to his commands. 
And when he returns he will be escorted 
from heaven to oarth, by all the holy angels, 
when he shall come to be glorified in his 
saints, taking vengeance on them that know 
not God and obey not the gospel. 

Wherefore he saith, "When he ascended up on high, 
he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 

He that descended is the same also that ascended up 
far above aU heavens, that he might fill all things. 

And he gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets , 
and some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers. 
— Eph. iv, 8, 10, 11. 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the gospel to every creature. 

He that belie veth and is baptized, shall be saved ; but 
he that believeth not, shall be damned. — Mark xvi, 
15, 16. 

And to you, who are troubled, rest with us, when the 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his 
mighty angels, 

In naming fire taking vengeance on them that know 
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ : 

Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction 
from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
power ; 

When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and 



THE FULNESS OF TIMES. 



135 



to be admired in all them that believe (because our tes- 
timony among you was believed) in that day. — 2 Thess. 
6 7, 8, 9, 10. 

The scenes of that day were revealed to 
Ezekiel, in the vision of the Yalley of Dry 
Bones. 

And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up 
flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath 
in you, and ye shall live ; and ye shall know that I am 
the Lord. 

So I prophesied as I was commanded : and as I 
prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, 
and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 

And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh 
came up upon them, and the skin covered them above : 
but there was no breath in them. 

Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, 
prophesy, Son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith 
the Lord God ; Come from the four winds, O breath, and 
breathe upon these slain, that they may live. 

So I prophesied as he comman ded me, and the breath 
came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their 
feet, an exceeding great army. 

Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are 
the whole house of Israel : behold, they say, Our bones 
are dried, and our hope is lost : we are cut off for our 
parts. 

Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith 
the Lord God ; Behold, my people, I will open your 
graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, 
and bring ypu into the land of Israel. 

And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have 
opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up 
out of your graves, 

And shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, 
and I shall place you in your own land : then shall ye 
know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it, 
saith the Lord. — Ezek. xxxvii, 1 — 14. 



And also in the vision of the union. of 



136 



THE JDISPEffSATION OF 



sticks. This is explained and confirmed in 
the same chapter, verses 21 — 27 : 

And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God ; Be- 
hold, I will take the children of Israel from among the 
heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on 
every side, and bring them into their own land : 

And I will make them one nation in the land upon 
the mountains of Israel ; and one king shall be king to- 
them all : and they shall be no more two nations, nei- 
ther shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more 
at all : 

Neither shall they defile themselves any more with 
their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with 
any of their transgressions : but I will save them out 
of all their dwelling-places, wherein they have sinned, 
and will cleanse them : so shall they be my people, and 
I will be their God. 

And David my servant shall be king over them ; and 
they shall have one shepherd : they shall also walk in 
my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 

And they shall dwell in the land that I have given 
unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have 
dwelt, and they shall dwell therein, even they, and 
their children, and their children's children for ever : 
and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. 

Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them ; 
it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I 
will place them, and multiply them, and will set my 
sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. 

My tabernacle also shall be with them ; yea, I will be 
their God, and they shall be my people. 

The sticks of Joseph and Judah repre- 
sents the two kingdoms of Judah and Is- 
rael, which will then be united, and David, 
meaning Christ, shall reign over them. 

1 f any are disposed still to doubt the 
gath ring of both the Jews and Gentiles, in 
the dispensation of the fulness of times, let 



THE FULNESS OF TIMES. 



137 



tbem read the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah. 
But some are disposed to object, and say, 
that this proves too much, for it is not rea- 
sonable to believe that all the descendants 
of Jacob will be saved. True, we do not 
expect that all the Jews or Gentiles are to 
be saved. But we do not understand that 
the whole house of Israel, here mentioned, 
includes all the posterity of Jacob. For we 
read: 64 they are not all Israel which are of 
Israel." 

Wot as though the word of God hath taken none ef 
feet. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. 

That is, They which are the children of the flesh, 
these are not the children of God ; but the children of 
the promise are counted for the seed. — Rom. ix, 6, 8. 

But we do not find that any are called Is- 
rael, who are not of the natural descendants 
of Jacob. Consequently, though we admit 
that not all the Jewish race will be includ- 
ed ; yet we understand that some of all the 
tribes will be restored, before this dispensa- 
tion of the fulness of times ushers in, and 
they will be converted, and they, with all 
that have died in faith, who belonged to that 
nation, will constitute the whole house of 
Israel, and that all the Gentiles who are 
living and believe, and all that have died 
in faith, will be gathered in Christ's king- 
dom as the fruit or fulness of the dispensa- 
tions of God to man. That will be the time 
of the manifestation of the sons of God. 
When the whole of God's people, who are 



133 



THE DISPENSATION OF 



created new in Christ, comprising the Jews, 
who have had the first fruits of the Spirit, 
and all the Gentiles that receive the spirit of 
adoption, will be delivered from the bondage 
of corruption, into the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for 
the manifestation of the sons of God. 

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not wil- 
lingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the 
same in hope ; 

Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from 
the bondage of corruption, into the glorious liberty of 
the children of God. 

For we know that the whole creation groaneth, and 
travaileth in pain together until now : 

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the 
first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within 
ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemp- 
tion of our body .—Rom. viii, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23. 

Some have supposed that the creation 
here mentioned, includes both man and 
beast ; but if it does, it includes no more 
than are newly created, by the redemption 
of their bodies, and such will not hurt nor 
destroy in all God's holy mountain. 

The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the 
leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the calf and 
the young lion and the fatling together ; and a little 
child shall lead them. 

And the cow and the bear shall feed ; their young 
ones shall lie down together : and the lion shall eat 
straw like the ox. 

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the 
asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the 
cockatrice's den. 

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun- 



THE FULNESS 0» TIMES. 



139 



tain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the 
Lord, as the waters cover the sea. — Isa. xi, 6, 7, 8, 9. 

If any still doubt, let them read at their 
leisure the whole of the eleventh and twelfth 
chapters of Isaiah. 

THE THOUSAND YEARS OF CHRIST'S REIGN"; 
OR THE NEW JUBILEE. 
" What sound is this salutes my ear ? 
'T is Gabriel's trump methinks I hear, 

Th' expected day is come ; 
Behold the heav'n, the earth and sea, 
Proclaim the year of Jubilee, 
Return, ye exiles, home. 

Behold the fair Jerusalem, 
Illuminated by the Lamb, 

In glory doth appear ; 
Fair Zion's rising from the tomb, 
To meet the bridegroom now he 's come 

Which hails the jubilee year. 

My soul is striving to be there, 
I long to rise and wing the air, 

And trace the sacred road ; 
Adieu ! adieu ! all mortal things, 

! that I had an angel's wings, 
I'd quickly see my God. 

Fly ! gracious moments, fly, O fly ! 

1 thirst, I pant, I long, I tiy, 
Angelic joys to prove ; 

Soon shall I quit this house of clay, 
Clap my glad wings and soar away, 
And shout redeeming love." 

Christ, in describing the scene when the 
Master shall shut the door, says : 

There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when 
ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the 



140 



THE DISPENSATION OJ? 



prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves 
thrust out. 

And they shall come from the east, and from the west, 
and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit 
down in the kingdom of God. — Luke xiii, 28, 29. 

By comparing this with Heb. xi, 13, 39, 
40, we shall see that Abraham and his pos- 
terity, who died in faith, received not the 
promises only in the prospective view of the 
vision of faith, yet, in the times of restitu- 
tion, Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and 
all the prophets, and all that have died in 
faith, of the posterity of Abraham, in num- 
ber as the stars in the sky, and the sands 
on the sea shore; and the innumerable mul- 
titude, which are of all nations and kin- 
dreds, and people, and tongues, redeemed 
from among the Gentiles, shall come from 
the east, and the west, and the north, and 
the south, and shall set down in the king- 
dom of God. They will then be made per- 
fect and receive the promise, viz : The heav- 
enly country for which they looked, while 
pilgrims and strangers on the earth ; and 
after reigning with Christ, in the new earth 
a thousand years, will enter into that city 
which God has prepared for them. 

But now they desire a better country, that is, an 
heavenly : wherefore God is not ashamed to be called 
their God : for he hath prepared for them a city. — Heb. 
xi, 15. 

The promise to Abraham not only em- 
braced the land of Canaan, but the world. 



THE FULNESS OF TIMES. 



141 



As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and 
thou shalt be a father of many nations. 

Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram ; 
but thy name shall be Abraham ; for a father of many 
nations have I made thee. 

And.I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will 
make nations of thee ; and kings shall come out of 
thee. 

And I will establish my covenant between me and 
thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for 
an everlasting covenant ; to be a God unto thee, and to 
thy seed after thee. 

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, 
the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Ca- 
naan, for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their 
God. — Gen. xvii, 4 — 8. 

For the promise that he should be the heir of the 
world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the 
law, but through the righteousness of faith. — Romans 
iv, 13. 

And yet' Abraham did not possess it in 
his day. For he bought a small parcel of 
it to bury his dead. Nor have his descend- 
ants possessed it but a few years. 

And he gave Jiim none inheritance in it, no, not so 
much as to set his foot on : yet he promised that he 
would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed 
after him, when as yet he had no child. — Acts vii, 5. 

I am a stranger and a sojourner with you : give me a 
possession of a burying-place with you, that I may bury 
my dead out of my sight. — Gen. xxiii, 4. 

The people of thy holiness have possessed it but a 
little while : our adversaries have trodden down thy 
sanctuary. — Isa. lxiii, 18. 

But it is promised to them for an ever- 
lasting possession ; and at the time of which 
the prophets speak, they will possess it. 



142 



THE DISPENSATION OF 



For God says, " I the Lord will hasten it in 
his time." 

There are now probably forty or fifty thou- 
sand Jews in Palestine, who are expecting 
that their brethren, comprising over ten 
millions, now scattered among all nations, 
will soon join them in the land of their |fa- 
thers. But there are certain obstructions 
to prevent their return. 

The Mahommedan Turkish government 
holds jurisdiction over the province of Pal- 
estine. And Russia, who has more of the 
Jews under her dominion than all other na- 
tions, refuses to let them go, while the 
Turks rule that province. But recent 
events indicate that these hindrances will 
soon be removed, either by the Jews taking 
possession of that province, by virtue of the 
mortgage which the Rothschilds now hold 
on it, or by the downfall of the Mahomme- 
dan Imposition, which according to proph- 
ecy, must come to its termination within 
ten years. 

And the beast was taken, and with him the false 
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which 
he deceived them that had received the mark of the 
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both 
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brim 
stone. — Rev. xix, 20. 



SECTION XL 



THE COMING AND RIGHT OF CHRIST TO 
REIGN. 

Text: continued from Section VII: 
M Until he come whose right it is, and I will 
give it him." 

Having shown, in a former section, that 
the kingdom of Israel is subverted, and is 
no more, I now resume the subject, and pro- 
ceed to consider the coming of Christ, and 
to show his right to the kingdom ; and his 
reign in this world, during a millennium or 
one thousand years. 

We find two classes of prophecies con- 
cerning our Lord Jesus Christ. One des- 
cribes his first coming into this world. The 
other makes known his second coming. 
And as there are important things revealed 
concerning both these events, I propose to 
consider some of them. 

First. His descent was literally such as 
the prophets had described. 

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right 
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. — Psa. 
cx, 1. 

Saying, What think ye of Christ ? whose son is he ? 
They say unto him, The son of David. 

He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit 
call them Lord, saving. 

143 



144 THE COMING AND RIGHT 



The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right 
hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. — Matt, 
xxii, 42, 43, 44. 

Second. The time predicted of his com- 
ing was literally fulfilled. 

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom 
of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel. — 
Mark i, 15. 

And as the people were in expectation, and all men 
mused in their hearts of J ohn, whether he were the 
Christ, or not. — Luke i, 15. 

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent 
forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law. 
—Gal. iv. 4. 

The place where he was born was fore- 
told, and literally fulfilled. 

But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little 
among the thousands of J udah, yet out of thee shall he 
come forth unto me that is to be Kuler in Israel ; whose 
goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. — 
Micah v, 2. 

And when he had gathered all the chief priests and 
scribes of the people together, he demanded of them 
where Christ should be born. 

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea : for 
thus it is written by the prophet, 

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the 
least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall 
come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. — 
Matt, ii, 4, 5, 6. 

Fourth. The manner of his coming, 
though miraculous, was literally verified. 

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign ; Be- 
hold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall 
call his name Immanuel. — Isa. vii, 14. 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring 
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 
which being interpreted is, God with us. — Matt, i, 23. 



W CHK1ST TO REIGN. 



145 



And all things must be fulfilled that are 
written in the law, and in the prophets, 
and in the Psalms concerning Christ, 
and must have an end ; but that does not 
show that they have all been fulfilled, or 
that they have yet had an end. 

And he said unto them, These are the words which 
I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all 
things must be fulfilled which were written in the law 
cf Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, con- 
cerning me. 

For I say unto you, that this that is written must yet 
be accomplished in me, And he was reckoned among 
the transgressors : for the things concerning me have an 
end. — Luke xxiv, 44 ; xxii, 37, 

Then we turn our attention to the scrip- 
tures of truth, to learn whether any thing 
is said concerning Christ's coming more 
than once. He said to his disciples : "Ye 
shall not have gone over the cities of Israel^ 
till the Son of man be come." But this refer- 
red to his sending them into every city and 
village whither he himself would come, and 
has no reference to his second or third com- 
ing. So likewise he said : " There be some 
standing here which shall not taste of death, 
till they have seen the Son of man coming 
in his kingdom." But according to Peter's 
account, they saw this when they were with 
him on the Mount of Transfiguration. — 
Matt, xvi, 48 ; Luke x, 1 ; 2 Pet. i, 16, 17, 
18. 

Christ said in John xiv, 3 : 
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 



146 THE CUMING AND RIGHT 

again and receive you unto myself ; that where I am? 
there ye may be also. 

Here we have a direct promise of Mb 
coming again ; and also, that he will then 
take his disciples to himself, that where he 
is thej may be also. This has never yet 
been fulfilled. And if we would know 
when it is to be fulfilled, let us turn to Mat, 
xxv, 31, 34 : 

When the Son of man shall eome in his glory, and all 
the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
throne of his glory. 

Then shall the King say unto them on his right 
hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the king- 
dom prepared for you from the foundation of the world- 

Paul calls this the coming of Christ the 
second time ; and gives us to expect it will 
take place at his appearing and kingdom. 

So Christ was onee offered to bear the sins of many ; 
and unto them that look for him shall he appear the 
second time without sin unto salvation. — Heb. ix, 28. 

I charge thee therefore, before God, and the Lord Je- 
sus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at 
his appearing and his kingdom.— -2 Tim. iv, I. 

Here, then, we find the time referred to 
in the text, viz : at his appearing and king- 
dom ; when he shall come to take the king- 
dom, and reign in Jerusalem, and in Mount 
Zion, and before his ancients gloriously. 

Some have supposed that Christ received 
the kingdom at his first coming. If so, it 
could not be said: "It shall be no more." 
For his coming was before the last overturn 
and subversion of the kingdom of Israel, 



OF CHRIST TO REIGN. 



147 



Consequently, although the kingdom of God 
lias been preached ever since John the Bap- 
tist; and although Christ was crowned 
king; and all power was given him in 
heaven and earth ; yet he has not appeared 
the second time, to reign on the earth ; nor 
has the time come for the saints to take and 
possess the kingdom. For flesh and blood 
cannot inherit the "kingdom of God. But 
Christ, who now is seated on his Father's 
throne, will set upon the throne of his 
glory, and then he will fulfill his promise. 

To him that overconieth will I grant to sit with me 
in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
with my Father in his throne. — Rev. iii, 21. 

But before proceeding to describe the 
reign of Christ, we will take into consider- 
ation his right to the kingdom. 

Earthly kings have urged their claims to 
kingdoms, upon various considerations : 
such as the following : 1. Birth, or heir- 
ship. 2. Gift. 3. Conquest. 4. Election 
by the former king or choice of the people. 
5. Purchase or redemption. 

From all these considerations Christ has 
a right to the kingdom. 

1. He is the only begotten Son of God, 
and heir of all things. And being the son 
of David, according to the flesh, he was 
born king of the Jews. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should 
not perish, but have everlasting life. — John iii, 16. 



148 



THE COMING AND KLGHT 



Hath in these last days spoken nnto us by his Son, 
whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom 
also he made the worlds. — Heb. i, 2 

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews ? 
for we have seen his star in the eastj and are come to 
worship him. — Matt, ii, 2. 

2. The kingdom is his by gift. 

I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto 
me, Thou art my Son ; this day have I begotten thee. 

Then thou spakest in vision to thy Holy One, and 
saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have 
exalted one chosen out of the people. 

I have found David my servant ; with my holy oil 
have I anointed him : 

With whom my hand shall be established : mine arm 
also shall strengthen him. 

The enemy shall not exact upon him ; nor the son of 
wickedness afflict him. 

And I will beat down his foes before his face, and 
plague them that hate him. — Psa. ii, 7, 8 ; lxxxix, 19 
—23. 

The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things 
into his hand. — John iii, 35. 

3. The kingdom is his by conquest. 

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by 
whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, 
to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through 
sufferings. 

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh 
and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the 
same ; that through death he might destroy him that 
had the power of death, that is, the devil. — Heb. ii, 
10, 14. 

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he 
made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in 
it.— Col. ii, 15. 

4. He is God's elected or chosen king, 
and his people unite harmoniously in this 
choice. 



OF CHRIST TO REIGN. 



149 



Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. — 
Isa. xl, 1. 

To whom coming as unto a living stone, disallowed 
indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. — 1 Pet. 
ii, 4. 

5. The kingdom belongs to Christ by 
purchase, and by right of redemption. 

For ye are bought with a price : therefore glorify God 
in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. — 1 
Cor. vi, 20. 

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is ev- 
ery one that hangeth on a tree, — Gal. iii, 13. 

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed 
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your 
vain conversation received by tradition of your fathers. 
—1 Pet i, 18. 

And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy 
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for thou 
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by the blood 
out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and na- 
tion ; 

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests : 
and we shall reign on the earth. — Rev. v, 9, 10. 

To these maybe added, the considerations 
that by and for him all things were created, 
and upheld. 

All things were "made by him ; and without him was 
not any thing made that was made. 

He was in the world, and the world was made by 
him, and the world knew him not. — John i, iii, 3, 10. 

For by him were all things created, that are in heav- 
en, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether 
they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or pow- 
ers: all things were created by him, and for him : 

And he is before all things, and by him all things 
consist. — Col i, 16, 17. 

These, and many other considerations, 
which might be urged, in view of his dig- 



150 



THE COMING AND RIGHT 



nity of character, bis love to his people, 
his righteousness, goodness, wisdom and 
skill, are strong reasons why the kingdom 
should be given him. 

Having considered his right to the king- 
dom, I go on to describe the glorious reign 
of Christ and his people, and the happy re- 
sult of his giving up the kingdom, when his 
followers will make their transition to the 
New Jerusalem. 

When Pharaoh promoted Joseph, in 
Egypt, he made him ruler over all his 
kingdom : a only in the throne will I be 
greater than thou," said he. And so, also, 
God has exalted his Son Jesus Christ. a 

Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy 
word shall all iny people be ruled : only in the throne 
will I be greater than thou.— Gen. xli, 40. 

Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him 
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the 
heavenly places, 

Far above all principality, and power, and might, 
and dominion, and every name that is named, not only 
in this world, but also in that which is to come : 

And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him 
to be the head over all things to the church, 

Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all 
in all.— Eph. i, 20, 21, 22, 23. 

For he hath put all things under his feet. But when 
he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that 
he is excepted which did put all things under him. — 1 
Cor. xv, 27. 

We have an interesting account of the 
reign of Christ, in Jer. xxiii, 5—8. 

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shalj 



OF CHRIST TO REIGN. 



151 



reign and prosper, and siiall execute judgment and jus- 
tice in the earth. 

In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall 
dwell safely : and this is the name whereby he shall be 
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 
they shall no more say.. The Lord liveth, which brought 
up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt ; 

But, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which 
led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north coun- 
try, and from all countries whither I had driven them ; 
and they shall dwell in their own land. 

From this we learn that Christ, as a 
righteous branch, will reign as a king, and 
execute judgment and justice in the earth. 
He has never yet reigned in this manner ; 
for he said : I am among you as one that 
serveth ; and in regard to executing judg- 
ment, he said: " 1 judge no mam" It is 
likewise stated that in his days Judah shall 
be saved,, and Israel shall dwell safely. Thk 
has never yet been fulfilled. For both these 
kingdoms have been subverted ever since 
the Roman dispersion. But the time will 
come, when the Lord, who brought up the 
children of Israel out of Egypt, will bring 
and lead the seed of the house of Israel out 
of every country whither he had driven 
them. And then they will call him, "THE 
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.". 

This seed is the same as designated by 
Isaiah as "the holy seed," and by Paul 
as the "children of the promise." — Isa c 
vi, 13 ; Rom. ix, 8. The same as are call- 



152 



THE COMING AND RIGHT 



ed the seed of Jacob, the seed of the bless- 
ed of the Lord, in Isa. lxv, 9, 23. 

These, together with the innumerable 
Gentile multitude, of all nations, will stand 
on Mount Zion with the Lamb. 

And I heard the number of them which were sealed : 
and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four 
thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 

And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on Mount Sion, 
and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, hav- 
ing his Father's name written in their foreheads. 

And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of 
many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder : and 
I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps : 

And they sung as it were a new song before the 
throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders : and 
no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty 
and four thousand, which were redeemed from the 
earth. — Rev. vii, 4 ; xiv, 1, 2, 3. 

According to the order of events, in 
John's vision, the 144,000 of the tribes of 
the children of Israel, will be sealed after 
the opening of the sixth seal. See Rev. vi, 
12, and vii, 1, 2, 3. Here we have the 
number of them that will hereafter be con- 
verted, which, with all the patriarchs and 
prophets, and the Jews and Gentiles who 
have died in faith, and all that shall be 
alive at his coming, together with infants 
and children, shall be gathered into one 
church and kingdom ; no more to be scat- 
tered or dispersed. 

Him that overcometh, will I make a pillar in the tem- 
ple of my God, and he shall go no more out : and I will 
write upon him the name of my God, and the name of 



OV CHRIST TO REIGN. 



153 



the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which 
cometh down out of heaven from my God : and I will 
write upon him my new name.— Rev. iii, 12. 

He will then, with propriety, be called 
Emmanuel, for he will be God with us. 

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring 
forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, 
which being interpreted is> God with us. — Matt, i, 23. 

From these and many other things said 
in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, it ap- 
pears that when Christ receives the king- 
dom, he will organize it by appointing his 
servants, the patriarchs, and prophets, and 
apostles, as kings, and priests, and judges ; 
and execute justice and judgment by the 
revelation of his word from Jerusalem, and 
by sending his law out of Zion by his ser- 
vants, who shall then rule in judgment un- 
der the king, who reigns in righteousness. 

Behold, a King shall reign in righteousness, and 
princes shall rule in judgment. — Isa. xxxii, 1. 

Ci Then the spirit will be poured upon 
them from on high," "and the work of right- 
eousness shall be peace, and the effect of 
righteousness quietness and assurance for- 
ever. 

| For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but 
righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. 

For he that in these things serveth Christ, is accept- 
able to God and approved of men. — Rom. xiv, 17, 18. 

In that dispensation, God will judge the 
world in righteousness by his Son, whom he 
foreordained, 



154 



THE COMINv* AND RIGHT 



Because lie hath appointed a day, in whkh he vui 
judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom k 
nath ordained : whereof he hath given assurance uiite 
-all men, in that he .hath raised him from the dead.— - 
Acts xvii^ 3L 

1. Christ will judge the twelve tribes of 
Israel, by his apostles, as the judges judged 
Israel . 

Our God shall come., and shall not keep silence : s. 
jlre shall devour before him, and it shall be very tem- 
pestuous round about him. 

He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the 
earth, that he may judge his people. 

Gather my saints together unto me ; those that have 
made a covenant with me by sacrifice. 

And the heavens shall declare his righteousness : for 
God is judge himself. S.elah. — Psa. 1,. 3, 4, 5, 6. 

And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, 
That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration, 
when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glo- 
ry, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel. — Matt, xix, 28. 

2. He will judge the nations, and all 
those who have washed their robes, and 
made them white with the blood of the 
Lamb, shall stand before the throne, and 
serve him da t y and night in his temple, and 
he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
among them. 

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve 
3iim day and night in his temple : and he that sitteth 
on the throne shall dwell among them. — Rev. vii, 15. 

3. He will judge angels which are re- 
served to the day of judgment. 

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast 
them down to hell, and delivered them into chains cf 
darkness^ to be reserved unto judgment. — 2 Pet ii, 4. 



OP CHRIST TO REIGN. 



155 



4. He will judge the devil and his an- 
gels, for whom everlasting fire was prepared. 

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the 
lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false 
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for 
ever and ever. — Rev. xx, 10. 

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, 
Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels. — Matt, xxv, 41. 

But here, some seem to be at a loss to un- 
derstand how these events can have place, 
and be fulfilled in one day. This problem 
is solved by the apostle. 

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that 
one day is with the Lord as a thousand, years, and a 
thousand years as one day. — Q Pet. iii, 8. 

By this we learn that the day of judg- 
ment will be a thousand years long; and this 
will afford opportunity for Christ to decide 
between him that serveth God and him that 
serveth him not. To raise the just that are 
his at his coming ; to reign on Mount Zion 
on the earth ; to loose Satan out of his pris- 
on, and to destroy him and his angels, and 
all the wicked who are deceived by him. 

And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in 
the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather 
them together to battle : the number of whom is as the 
sand of the sea. 

And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and 
compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved 
city : and fire came down from God out of heaven, and 
devoured them — Rev. xx, 8, 9. 

When Christ comes, this dispensation of 
the fulness of times, will commence ; and 



156 THE COMING AND RIGHT 

when he shall have changed the living 
saints, and destroyed the wicked that are 
living at his coming, and judged the quick 
and the dead, at his appearing and king- 
dom, his saints will have part in the first 
resurrection, and sinners shall be banished 
from his presence into everlasting fire. 

But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished. This is the first resur- 
rection. 

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
resurrection : on such the second death hath no power, 
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall 
reign with him a thousand years. — Rev. xx, 5, 6. 

As Christ's resurrected body retained all 
the members and organs of sense and sen- 
sation, that it did before his death, so also 
will the bodies of immortal saints retain 
their physical organization, and mental fac- 
ulties, in the resurrection. And being free 
from corruption, and pain, and weariness, 
and furnished with means of using those 
faculties, and senses, they will have oppor- 
tunity to employ them, with more alacrity 
and delight, than they ever did in their 
mortal state. 

The glory of the Savior, whom they will 
see as he is ; the beauty of angels ; the 
youthful forms of the saints ; and the splen- 
dor of the new heavens and the earth, will 
furnish them with visions of beatific em- 
ployment for their eyes. 

Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty : they 



OF CUBIST TO KEION. 



157 



shall behold the land that is very far off. — Isa. xxxiii, 

The harmonious music of the songs of 
praise of angels and saints, and the procla- 
mation of the word of the Lord, and the 
conversation of saints, that have lived in 
every age and part of the world, will fur- 
nish amusement for the ears. 

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the 
ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. — Isa. xxxv, 5. 

The sweet odors of all the bowers and 
blossoms and flowers of the elysian fields of 
paradise, will be a sweet smelling savor. 

The tree of life, that shall yield its twelve 
manner of fruit every month ; (not merely 
once a month ;) but like trees in the tropi- 
cal climes, blossoming, maturing, and ripen- 
ing continually ; with the fruit of all other 
trees, and herbs, and grains, will afford a 
rich repast for the taste. 

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of 
the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve 
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : 
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the 
nations. — Rev. xxii, 2. 

The divine influences of the Holy Spirit 
on purified passions and spirits, with all the 
influences of social intercourse with saints 
and angels ; together with all the sympa- 
thies of immortal perfected natures, will 
give exercise to feelings, and delightful sen- 
sations of joy, and happiness, and pleasures 
unutterable. 



158 



THE COMiNU AND RIGHT 



All these combined, with the privilege oi 
communing with God, and meeting death- 
divided friends, and all the best and wisest 
of all ages, will enable the redeemed to re- 
alize all that Job anticipated: u Then shall 
I be satisfied, when 1 awake in thy like- 
ness." 

But, add to this the intellectual banquet 
of progressing in the knowledge of God, 
and of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the holy- 
science of divinity, as well as in those of 
nature ; with the capacities to understand 
and retain all that w T e ever have, or shall 
learn, and we can appreciate, in some de- 
gree, by anticipation, what the apostle said, 

Then shall 1 know, as even also I am 
known." 1 Cor. xiii, 12. 

This is to be the happy state of all there- 
deemed of all nations. Not merely for a 
few days, or months, or years ; but for a 
thousand years. While Christ will dwell, 
personally, with them, on the new earth, 
seated on his throne, reigning in Zion, and 
before his ancients, gloriously. 

But after the thousand years are finished, 
Satan must be loosed for a little season, and 
the rest of the dead, that lived not till after 
the thousand years, shall come up on the 
breadth of the earth, and encompass the 
camp of the saints, and the beloved city; 
and fire from God out of heaven shall come 
down, as it did on Sodom, and devour them. 



i)F CHRIST TO RElO-ft, 



15y 



This iff the last account we have of Satan's 
works, or of his subjects. 

Some seem to blend this account with 
that given by the prophet Ezekiel, of the 
armies of Gog, of the land of Magog, that 
shall come up on the mountains of Israel ; 
because the same names are used. But 
when we consider that the army of Gog was 
fehe last, and probably the greatest spokerj 
of in the prophecies, concerning events be- 
fore the thousand years commenced, so it 
would be natural to call the next army by 
the same name, on account of their number, 
as no other name would be more appropri- 
ate to identify a combination of all nations 
against the saints, than that which was used 
to describe the many people^ and nations, 
that were combined against the Jews in the 
army of Gog. — Ezek. Ixxxviii, 3, 4, 22, and 
xxxvii, 2, 4, 5, 6. 

But others are ready to object, and say, 
it cannot be that the wicked would be dis- 
posed, or dare to attempt to fight a battle, 
after rising from the dead. Why not? They 
will have the same corrupt dispositions then 
that they have now. The same devil to 
tempt them. The same motives to induce 
them. And will be more easily deceived, 
because the light of truth will not be restor- 
ed to them, and the desperation that will 
pervade their mind, together with the pow- 
er of deception exerted by Satan in his der- 



160 



THE COM1NO AND EIGHT 



nier resort, will be fully more likely to gath- 
er them in such an enterprise, than while 
here. 

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treas- 
urest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, 
and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. 

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God : 'for 
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can 
be. — Rev. ii, 5 ; viii, 7. 

When the great white throne appears, and 
the books are opened, the dead will be 
judged according to their works, and who- 
soever is not found written in the Book of 
Life, will be cast into the lake of fire ; which 
is the second death. 

Christ will give up the kingdom to the 
Father, at the expiration of the seventh 
thousand years, when Christ shall have put 
down all rule and all authority and power. 
For he must reign until this is accomplish- 
ed.— 1 Cor. xv, 24, 25. 

And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on 
it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; 
and there was found no place for them. 

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
God ; and the books were opened : and another book 
was opened, which is the book of life ; and the dead 
were judged out of those things which were written in 
the books, according to their works. 

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it ; and 
death and hell delivered up the dead which were in 
them ; and they were judged every man according to 
their works. 

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. 
This is the second death. — Rev. xx, 11, 22, 13, 14. 

Here then we rest, and take the telescope 



OF CHRIST TO REIGN. Ml 

of prophecy, and look, by faith, to find the ) 
future circumstances and everlasting state 
of God's people, redeemed from the earth. 



SECTION XII. 

THE TRANSITION TO THE NEW JERUSALEM. 

Text: Eev. xxii, 14: " Blessed are they 
that do his commandments, that they may 
have right to the tree of life, and may enter 
in through the gates into the city." 

The city having been described in a for- 
mer section, 1 shall proceed to consider its 
privileges. When our first parents were 
driven from Eden, on account of their trans- 
gression, they were deprived of the right to 
the Tree of Life. Since that, man has not 
been permitted to eat of the fruit of the 
Tree of Life, Although the leaves were orig- 
inally designed for the healing of the na- 
tions ; yet the nations have not been healed; 
and death has reigned from Adam to Moses, 
and to the present, and will, until it is swal- 
lowed up in victory. 

Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the gar- 
den, of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was 
taken. 

So he drove out the man : and he placed at the ea^t 

Ji 



162 



THE TRANSITION TO 



of the garden of Eden cberubims, and a flaming sword 
which turned every wav, to keep the way of the tree 
of life.— Gen. iii, 23, 24." 

Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, 
even over them that had not sinned after the similitude 
of Adam s transgression, who is the figure of him that 
was to come. — Rom. v, 14. 

When the dying penitent thief prayed on 
the Cross, saying, "Lord, rernemfcer me, 
when thou com est into thy kingdom," Je- 
sus gave him a promise adapted to his 
prayer ; by which we understand the inter- 
mediate state of departed spirits, between 
death and the resurrection, is called para- 
dise. 

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To- 
day shalt thou be with me in paradise.— Luke xxiii, 43. 

Christ did not ascend to heaven itself; for 
he said to Mary : " I am not yet ascended/' 
and this was after he arose from the dead. 
And Paul said he knew that one was caught 
up to the paradise of God, and heard un- 
speakable words : but whether in the body 
or out, he could not tell. From which it is 
evident, that he believed a man could^exist, 
absent from the body, in such manner as to 
be conscious of hearing. And this was un- 
doubtedly the source from which he derived 
the confident knowledge, expressed in 2 
Cor. v, 6, 8. 

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, 
whilst wc are at home in the body, we are absent from 
the Lord. 



THE NEW JERUSALEM. 



163 



We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be ab- 
sent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.— 
Phil, i, 22, 23, 24. 

This caused him to hesitate what to 
choose ; whether to depart and be with 
Christ, or to abide in the flesh. 

There salute thee Epaphras, my fellow-prisoner in 
Christ Jesus ; 

Marcus, Aris^archus, Demas, Lucas, my fellow -labor- 
ers.— Phil, i, 23, 24. 

Christ not only gave a promise to the thief 
on the cross, but also to all that overcame 
the world. 

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit 
saith unto the churches ; To him that overcometh will I 
give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of 
the paradise of God. — Rev. ii, 7. 

As the, tree of life was in the garden of 
Eden, so when the new earth shall be crea- 
ted, the tree of life will be there, and all 
that overcome will be permitted to eat of 
this tree, which is now in the midst of the 
paradise of God, and will then be in the new 
earth as it was in Eden. 

For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with 
peace : the mountains and the hills shall break forth be- 
fore you into singing, and .all the trees of the field shall 
clap their hands. 

Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and 
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree : and 
it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting 
sign that shall not be cut off. — Isa. lv, 12, 13. 

This tree of life, also, will grow and flour- 
ish in the city of the New Jerusalem, in all 
its luxuriance and fruitfulness. 

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of 



THE TRANSITION To 



the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve 
manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month : 
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the 
nations — Eev. xx, :l 

Those who do his commands, instead oi 
transgressing them as Adam did, will have 
right to partake of all the trees in the midst 
of the street, and on either side of the river. 
By which we understand that there will be 
many of them there. 

There will be the river of water of life 
proceeding out of the throne of God and the 
Lamb : clear as crystal. 

They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness 
of thy house ; and thou shaft make them drink of the 
river of thy pleasures. 

For wirh thee is the fountain of life: in thy light 
shall we see light. — Psa. xxxvi, 8, 9. 

In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the 
house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for 
sin and for uncleanness — Zech. xiii, 1. 

And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and 
Omega, the beginning and the end- I will give unto 
him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life 
freely. — Rev. xxi, 6. 

From these we learn that this fountain is 
the source of the river of the pleasures of 
God's people, with which they shall be 
abundantly satisfied. That this Fountain 
will come forth of the house of the Lord, 
in such abundance, that mountains will 
drop down new wine, and the hills shall 
How with milk, and all the rivers shall flow 
with pure waters. That this fountain shall 
be opened to the house of David, and to the 



THE NEW JERUSALEM. 



165 



inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and un- 
cleanness, in that day when they shall look 
upon him whom they have pierced, and shall 
mourn for him as one mourneth for his first 
born son. 

The waters of this fountain are proffered 
to all that thirst, both Jew and Gentiles. 
Hence, the prophets have invited those who 
thirst to come, without money or price. 
And Christ invited any that thirsteth to 
come and drink. And the Spirit and the 
Bride say, Come ; let him that heareth these 
invitations, say Come ; and whosoever will, 
let him drink the water of life freely. 

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the "waters, 
and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy, and eat ; 
yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and with- 
out price. — Isa. lv, 1 . 

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus 
stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come 
unto me and drink. — John vii, 37. 

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let 
him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is 
athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the 
water of life freely. — Eev. xxii, 17. 

But as this river will proceed out from 
the throne of God and the Lamb, in the 
New Jerusalem, it shows conclusively that 
even after Christ gives up the kingdom, and 
becomes subject to the Father, he will reign 
with his father for ever and ever. 

And there shall be no more curse : but the throne of 
God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and his servants 
shall serve him. — Rev. xxii, 3. 



THE TRANSITION TU 



This harmonizes with many other scrip* 
tures, that represent his reign and govern- 
ment, as an everlasting dominion, and of 
the increase of his government there shall 
be no end. 

In the Apocalypse he is represented as 
having many crowns. 

His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were 
many crowns ; and he had a name written, that no man 
knew, but he himself. — Rev. xix, 12. 

Earthly kings wore as many crowns as 
they ruled over different countries or na- 
tions. And our Lord Jesus Christ is enti- 
tled to many crowns, for he is ruler of all 
nations and all worlds. And as we read of 
his being anointed, and crowned with glory 
and honor before the world was ; and at his 
ascension ; so he will be crowned when he 
comes to reign in the new earth, and when 
he shall give up the kingdom, in the New 
Jerusalem, he will be crowned as prince 
forever, in the New Jerusalem. 

I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or 
ever the earth was. — Prov. viii, 23. 

And Jesus came, and spake unto them, saying, All 
power is given unto me in neaven and in earth. — Matt, 
xxviii, 18. 

Another privilege pertaining to this city, 
is, that there will be no night there ; neither 
will its inhabitants need the light of can- 
dles, or of the moon, or stars, neither of the 
sun. For the Lord God will lighten it, and 
the Lamb will be the light thereof. 



THJ£ NhW J Kit U SALEM . 167 

Aad the city had no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, 
and the Lamb is the light thereof. 

And there shall be no night there ; and they need no 
candle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giv- 
eth them light : and they shall reign for ever and ever. 
— Rev. xxi, 23 ; xxii, 5. 

Christ is represented as the true light of 
the whole world ; and his countenance is 
represented to be u as the sun shineth in his 
strength.'' 

In him was life ; and the life was the light of men. 

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man 
that cometh into the world. John i, 4, 9. 

And was transfigured before them : and his face did 
shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the 
light.— Matt, xvii, 2. 

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like 
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to 
the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. 

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white 
as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire ; 

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in 
a furnace ; and his voice as the sound of many waters. 

And he had in his right hand seven stars : and out of 
his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword; and his 
countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.— 
Rev. i, 13, 14, 15, 16. 

If Christ in his transfiguration appeared 
with a face like the sun, and in the vision 
of John his countenance was as the sun shi- 
neth in his strength, it requires nothing in- 
consistent to believe, that in the New Jeru- 
salem, he will be the light of the city of the 
living God ; for " God is light and in him 
is not any darkness at all and 48 God who 
hath commanded the light (of this natural 



168 



THE i^ANSIXiON 10 



world) to shine out of darkness, hath shined 
in our hearts, to give the light of the know- 
ledge of the glory of God, in the face of Je- 
sus Christ." — John i, 5; 2 Cor. iv, 6. 

Another circumstance that will conduce 
to the happiness of those who enter that 
city, will be that there will be no death, 
sickness, sorrow, nor crying there. 

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes ; 
and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor 
crying, neither shall there be any more pain : for the 
former things are passed away. — Kev. xxi, 4. 

And, to make the condition of the right- 
eous safe, nothing that defileth, or worketh 
abomination, or maketh a lie, will enter 
there. 

And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing 
that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, 
or maketh a lie ; but they which are written in the 
Lamb's book of life. — Rev. xxi, 27. 

And to complete the felicity and happi- 
ness of all the blessed of the Lord, God and 
the Lamb will dwell there, and will be the 
Temple of that city, and the whole family in 
heaven and earth will bring the glory of all 
nations into it, and shall unite harmoniously 
and perpetually in worshipping God and 
the Lamb forever, even forever and ever. 

And I heard a great voice out of heaven, saying, Be- 
hold, the tabernacle of God is with men, anil he will 
dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and 
God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 

And I saw no temple therein : for the Lord God Al- 
mighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 



THE NEW JERUSALEM. 



169 



And they shall bring the glory and honor of the na- 
tions into it. — Rev. xxi, 3, 22, 26. 

Some have supposed this city to be the 
church, but the church are to dwell in it 
after the heavens and earth, which are now, 
are fled away, and there is no place found 
for them : by which we understand it will 
not be located on this earth, as many have 
calculated ; but when it shall come down 
from God out of heaven, the new heaven 
and earth will have been created and inhab- 
ited by Christ and his saints a thousand 
years, in which all things shall be subdued 
unto him, and then when he shall give up 
the kingdom to the Father, this city will 
descend. 

But as he who will then set upon the ' 
throne, will make all things new T , we cannot 
calculate w T ith any precision, the location of 
that city; whether it will be on the new 
earth or be an independent world of itself. 
But, from some things revealed concerning 
it, we are inclined to believe that it will be 
an independent world, not connected with 
this globe, or any other planet in the system 
of worlds. For it will not need the light 
of the sun,*or moon, nor of the stars. But 
as the Lord God and the Lamb will be the 
light thereof, it seems to be more than prob- 
able, that it will be the centre of all other 
planets, and the source from which the 



170 



THL TKANiSlIiUX TO 



whole system of worlds derive their light 
and motion. 

And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the 
moon, to shine in it : for the glory of God did lighten it, 
and the Lamb is the light thereof. — Rev. xix, 23. 

Whether this city is to be the constant, 
abiding place of those redeemed from this 
earth, or whether it will be open and free 
for them to enter into, and visit occasion- 
ally, has been a question with many. And 
also whether it will be open to the inhabi- 
tants of other worlds, or to the angelic hosts, 
has been a subject of enquiry. From some 
things revealed in the scriptures, which 
have been quoted in this treatise, it seems 
that the saints will have the right at all 
times to enter in through the gates ; for the 
gates will not be shut at all by day, and 
there will be no night there. And the na- 
tions of them which are saved, shall walk 
continually in the light of the city ; but as 
God himself is not confined to the heaven 
of heavens, but makes the clouds his chariot, 
and rides upon the wings of the wind, and 
visits every part of the universe; and as 
Christ descended to the earth and ascended 
from it, and will come again and take his 
people to himself ; and also as the angels 
and Moses and Elias have been permitted 
to leave the heavenly worlds, to visit this 
world, so also the saints who will have 
right to enter into the city, will not be con- 



THE NEW JERUSALEM. 171 

fined to the city, but will inhabit the new 
earth, and go up to the city to worship the 
Lord of hosts, and will mingle with all the 
angels and heavenly hosts of seraphic mil- 
lions around the throne of God and the 
Lamb, while eternity, or duration unmeas- 
ured, moves on in a world without end. 

A VISION OF THE KINGDOM OP CHRIST 
AMONG MEN. 

" Lo, what a glorious sight appears, 

To our believing eyes ! 
The earth and seas have pass'd away, 

And the old rolling skies. 

From the third heaven, where God resides, 

That holy, happy place, 
The new Jerusalem comes down, 

Adorn'd with shining grace. 

Attending angels shout for joy, 

And the bright armies sing : 
" Mortals, behold the sacred seat 

Of your descending King. 

" The God of glory down to men 

Removes his bless'd abode ; 
Men, the dear objects of his grace ; 

And he the loving God. 

" His own soft hand shall wipe the tears 

From ev'ry weeping eye ; 
And pains, and groans, and griefs, and fears, 

And death itself shall die." 

How long, dear Savior, how long 

Shall this bright hour delay ? 
Fly swifter round, ye wheels of time, 

And bring the welcome day." 



172 THE TRANSITION TO 

Having examined the appearance of the 
kingdom of God, in the different phases in 
which it presents its glories to our view, re- 
trospectively, perspectively, and prospec- 
tively, in the Prophecies and Promises of 
Gods word contained in the Bible, I will 
now come to a closing of these illustrations, 
with a few remarks by way of reflection on 
what has been illustrated. 



REFLECTIONS ON THE SUBJECTS ILLUSTRA- 
TED. 

On reviewing the subjects illustrated, we 
are led to the following reflections, viz : 

i. That God exists in the heaven of heav- 
ens as an Identical person, having form and 
parts, with infinite perfections of physical 
and moral faculties. 2. That heaven is a 
local place, where God inhabits eternity; 
dwelling in light, as the fountain and centre 
of the light of all solar systems of worlds. 
3. That the throne of God is prepared in the 
heavens, as the seat of his dominion and 
power. 4. That his kingdom rules over all 
worlds, and is manifested to us in this world, 
as comprising a King, Subjects, Territory, 
and Law. 5. That Jesus Christ is God's 
chosen and anointed King, and was foreor- 
dained before the foundation of the world; 
but was manifested in these last times for 
ns. That Man, as well as Angels, and all 
the heavenly hosts, are the subjects of God's 
kingdom. 7. That the heavens and earth, 
comprising this, and all other solar systems 
of worlds, are the Territory of God's king- 
dom. 8. The revelation of the will of God, 
in all worlds, and under every dispensation, 
is the Law of his kingdom. 9. That the 



174 



REFLECTIONS ON THE 



kingdom of God is revealed to mankind in 
different phases, by the appearance of its 
several elements, according to the capacities 
and circumstances of those who live under 
its dispensations. 10. That it was prepar- 
ed for man from the foundation of the 
world ; but was forfeited by man's trans- 
gression : and redeemed by Jesus Christ. 
11. That it was proffered to Israel on con- 
dition of obedience, and lost by their rebel- 
lion in rejecting Christ as their king. 12. 
That it was taken from the house of Israel, 
and given to the Christian Church, compos- 
ed of Jews and Gentiles. 13. That under 
the Christian dispensation it is freely prof- 
fered to all mankind, on condition of repent- 
ance from dead works and faith toward 
God. 14. That in the fulness of times, 
there will be a restitution of all things, 
which have been wrongfully usurped ; when 
Paganism will vanish away, Popery be 
overthrown, and Mahommedanism fall to 
rise no more ; and the Jews and Gentiles, 
having equal light and liberty, will come in 
and see the salvation of God together. 15. 
That, in the dispensation of the fulness of 
times, Christ will come and reign on the 
earth a thousand years ; the living saints 
changed, the righteous dead resurrected, 
will then reign with Christ on the new earth, 
in the regeneration. .16. That the devil 
and his angels, and the wicked of all na- 



SUBJECTS ILLUSTRATED. 



175 



tions, when they come up in the last resur- 
rection, on the breadth of the earth, will be 
cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, 
which is the second death. 17. That, at 
the end of the thousand years, when all 
things shall be subdued unto Christ, then 
the Son himself will give up the kingdom 
to God, even the Father, that God may be 
all in all. 18. And that when God, who 
lias prepared his throne in the heavens, shall 
accept the redeemed multitude, as the pur- 
chase of his own blood, in the sacrifice of 
his Son, then he will receive them into those 
many mansions in his house, or dwelling 
place, in the city of the living God, the new 
Jerusalem. 

Having steered my course thus, by the 
assistance of the Bible as my chart, and the 
spirit of truth as my needle on the compass 
of revolving worlds on worlds, I have, in 
my own mind, succeeded in shunning the 
rocks of unbelief and error, on the one hand, 
and the quick sands of mystical interpreta- 
tions, on the other; and find myself at rest 
in the haven of truth. And here by the 
quadrant of faith, and the telescope of di- 
vine revelation, in the prophecies and prom- 
ises of God's word, I have sweet visions of 
the latitudes and longitudes of this world , 
and of that which is to come. 

Here, then, 1 take my leave of the reader, 
expecting soon to try the realities of those 



176 REFLECTIONS ON THE SUBJECTS, &c. 



things of which I have been treating, in this 
brief illustration. 

"When thou, my righteous Judge, shall come 
To call thy ransom'd people home, 

Shall I among them stand ? 
Shall such a worthless worm as I 
"Who sometimes am afraid to die, 

Be found at thy right hand ! 

I love to meet among them now, 
Before thy gracious throne to bow, 

Though weakest of them all ; 
But can I bear the piercing thought, 
To have my worthless name left out, 

When thou for them shalt call ? 

Prevent, prevent it, by thy grace ! 
Be thou, dear Lord, my hiding place, 

In that expected day : 
Thy pard'ning voice, *0 let me hear, 
To still each unbelieving fear, 

N"or let me fall, I pray. 

Let me among thy saints be found, 
Whene'er th' archangel's trump shall sound, 

To see thy smiling face; 
Then loud, through all the crowd, IT1 sing, 
While heaven's resounding mansions ring, 

With shouts of boundless grace." 



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